Simon manages the different vineyard blocks according to the style of Chardonnay he will be producing from the specific block. The grapes for the unwooded and Chavant wines are harvested at full phenolic ripeness but earlier and at a slightly lower sugar level than those intended for our Louisvale Chardonnay. The vines for this flagship wine are managed in a special way.
The grapes are harvested at a later, riper and more complex stage as the wine needs to marry with the new French oak barrels to create a well balanced harmonious wine with neither the fruit or wood over powering the other. On arrival at the cellar our hand harvested grapes are immediately placed in the refrigeration room and left overnight at 8 degrees C. The following morning they undergo a meticulously and time consuming scrutiny where all the undesired berries and leaves are removed at the sorting table. This is followed by crushing and destalking, draining and pressing.
The juice for the unwooded Chardonnay is fermented at 15 degrees C in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The “Prut” is added back to the wine The juice of the Chavant and flagship Chardonnay are inoculated with the yeast strain in the stainless steel tanks and as soon as fermentation commences it’s moved to the barrels. Simon uses 50% new 225L French Oak barrels for the Chardonnay, where it stays on the lees for 6 – 8 months. The wine the receives no battonage but its regularly topped up. Malolactic fermentation is never induced, but if it happens naturally Simon allows it to continue. The lightly wooded Chavant spends 4 months in 2nd 3rd and 4th fill barrels and does not undergo malolactic fermentation. Our wines are fined stabilized and filtrated prior to bottling. Our red grapes are crushed and de-stalked before undergoing fermentation.
The grapes start off at a temperature of 18 degrees C and once inoculated Simon lets the temperature rise to 26-28 degrees C at which he allows fermentation to continue. The fermented juice is pumped over 3 to 4 times a day to encourage the extraction of colour and tannin. Fermentation continues on the skins for an average of 8 days, after which the fermenting red wine is drained off the skins and racked into a stainless steel tank, where fermentation is completed. The press juice from the skins may be added to add complexity and flavour. The wine is then racked off the rough lees into a tank where it undergoes malolactic fermentation, followed by minimum 12 months maturation in 225L French oak barrels. The wine receives minimal filtration prior to bottling to retain as much of its character and flavour as possible.
