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Screwcap. Due to poor flowering there is no Folium Chardonnay this year, and very little of this wine as well! The Carter Ashmore Vineyard, in Marlborough’s Fairhall sub-region, is situated on an ancient riverbed where the soils are a mixture of layered silt and alluvial gravels deposited over the aeons. This site is farmed organically by Dog Point’s viticulturalists, and is planted to the Mendoza clone of Chardonnay. The vineyard team has worked hard on introducing strong biological competition, and a canopy management regimen that encourages the vines to channel all their energy into the fruit (vis-à-vis the vegetation). The overall approach has given Corofin the ability to harvest fruit that is fully flavour ripe at lower sugar levels. You get the winemaking notes from Mike Patterson below.
Whole bunch pressed slowly over six hours; no additions were made during or post pressing; transferred with a high percentage of solids to one 500 litre oak puncheon and one stainless steel barrel for fermentation; natural fermentation with full malo; remained on original lees in barrel, without stirring or sulphur, until late March 2018; brought together in stainless steel before bottling without fining and filtration.
This is stunning Chardonnay. It strikes a fine balance between generosity, with layers of ripe, Golden Delicious, nectarine fruit and gently nutty lees characters and both purity and freshness. There is intense, punchy acidity to balance the fruit and a long saline, complex close. Simply a beautiful wine.