2020 Chardonnay
"Aromatic power and exceptional balance between generosity and tension; a fine illustration of our mature vineyards and their remarkable location"
In Margaret River, considered one of Australia’s premium chardonnay growing regions, Cape Mentelle creates wines of plush texture, depth and power, yet balanced with a fine frame of acidity. Built around the classic local Gingin clone, this multilayered and complex wine draws upon an additional array of clones and multiple microclimates within our sites, benefiting from cool nights to capture an exquisite vibrancy of fruit.
Nose
The Chardonnay 2020 reveals a beautiful and expressive nose of white flowers, yellow peach, beeswax and hints of brioche.
Palate
Hand-picked Chardonnay from our own vineyards with “one plot one batch” approach, gently pressed and transferred to barrel for wild fermentation. Oak selection focuses on enhancing fruits and specificities of each plot. Wine is then left unsulphured for a few weeks post ferment and undergoes a stirring regime monitored by tasting to build texture and refine structure. In this blend, our Chapman Chardonnay provides generosity and weight while our Crossroad fruit adds another layer of tension to the wine. Essentially, the team aims to interlay each block to ensure that the final wine showcases the unique taste of each sites’ characteristics and clonal diversity.
Blend
Chardonnay 100%
Cellaring
10-15 years
Food Pairing Notes
Spinach gnocchi with parmesan, chilli crab linguini or cheesy puffs.
The Vineyard
The fruit in this wine comes from our two southern sites, providing brightness, purity and natural acidity. The blocks are set up on a VSP trellis system and are a combination of spur and cane pruning depending on the block. The value that these parcels provide is their excellent expression of site and region.
The Season
The winter leading into 2020 was significantly wet - particularly during June when 274mm was experienced across the month. This was followed by a drier than usual start to the growing season and slightly warmer than expected temperatures throughout spring. This soon shifted into a hot summer, causing increased rate of phenological development. January provided a reprieve from the hot weather with uncharacteristically cool/mild conditions. Harvest conditions were ideal - a long window for picking with mild night temperatures. Rainfall began to resume during March after the conclusion of the chardonnay picking period.
Winemaking
The fruit is 100% hand-picked into small baskets with a capacity of only 6.5kg to ensure it arrives in pristine condition. Gin Gin clone fruit from our Chapman Brook vineyard block 17 was the first to be picked in early March, with the very last pick coming from our Crossroads Vineyard Burgundy clones 95 & 76 on April 1. After gentle whole-bunch pressing, the juice goes straight to barrels, with all the solids remaining. We use Burgundian oak exclusively, one third being new. The 100% wild ferment is left to happen naturally with some malolactic fermentation encouraged. The wine was bottled over two days in mid-January, just before the start of the following harvest.
Analysis
14.3% alcohol, 7.43g/l total acidity, 3.24 pH
