VINTAGE: Hand-Picking Dates: 24th February – 19th March 2021 Brix at Harvest: 20.3 – 24.3

SEASON: 2021 was an outstanding vintage that was cooler and later than the ten-year average. During the post-harvest period of 2020, there were reasonable water reserves in the soil and this allowed the vines to have a successful build-up of reserves as we headed into winter. Fortunately, winter rainfall was significantly higher than the previous season. Budding occurred in late August around normal and once activated, it was very even for Chardonnay. A cool early Spring with wetter conditions meant the soils remained cool, leading to a delayed growth of the immature shoots by up to three weeks. Flowering and fruit set was characterised by continuous cool conditions with frequent rain showers. Veraison occurred 2-3 weeks later than average giving a much longer hangtime than normal and harvesting began in late February but went deep into March. The wines themselves have a fabulous pH with high acidity and perfumed flavour profiles; alcohols are somewhat lower than average, in fact, the lowest since I began making wine.

WINEMAKING: Grapes were hand-picked in the early autumnal mornings, placed into small lug baskets and tipped directly into a press before being gently whole-bunch pressed up to a maximum of 0.6 bar or until a low juice recovery of 620 litres per ton was obtained using our Wilmes Sigma 5 press. The juice gravity-flowed directly to barrel without settling. The unclarified juice had no enzymes or yeast added to it and therefore underwent spontaneous fermentation until dry, with malolactic discouraged. The wine rested in barrel for four months before judicious sulphuring and a further seven months’ maturation in barrel before racking, blending and bottling.

BARREL SELECTION: A small number of artisanal coopers were selected, al from Burgundy and only French oak was chosen. Importantly, each clone and soil type was micro-vinified as separate batches. Each batch used an algorithm that we have developed to ascertain which coopers work best and how many new and used barrels are utilised. Overall, the average in 2021 was 54% new oak; 89.8% 228 l and 10.2% 500 l.