Blackenbrook Chardonnay 2015

Blackenbrook Chardonnay 2015
After twelve months barrel-ageing our Blackenbrook Chardonnay 2015 is of an elegant style with pineapple, bran biscuit and toasted nut characters and a seductively long finish.
Ideal serving temperature: 15°C
From Sustainable Production, accredited by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand
Reviews
4 Stars Michael Cooper
Light lemon/green, this wine is fresh and generous, with vibrant, citrusy, peachy, slightly biscuity flavours, showing good complexity, and a finely textured finish.
Best drinking mid-2017+.
From Sustainable Production, accredited
by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand
Weather Conditions: Spring and summer were hot and extremely dry, enhancing great flavours in our grapes. Rain set in just one week before harvest, making for anxious times. Luckily the fine weather returned for another 2 weeks – just long enough to bring our crop in safely and in good condition.
Viticulture
• Single Vineyard: 100% fruit from our 14 year old Home block
• Moutere clay soil with a layer of sandy loam
• Clones: Mendoza, Gm 2/23, UCD 15, Cl 95
• Manual shoot thinning, leaf plucking and crop reduction
• Hand-harvested and hand-sorted on 27 March 2015
Winemaking
• Extremely gentle winemaking: Whole bunch pressed, gravity-fed from press area to main winery, cool fermentation, partially barrel-fermented, extended lees contact, minimal pumping
• 12 months in oak barrels (225L – 500L)
• 40% French oak, 60% American oak
• 20% new oak
• 60% malolactic fermentation
• Bottled on 21 July 2016 in light-weight bottles to reduce our carbon footprint
• Screw capsules, 14.0% alcohol
• Vegan wine