The Greystone Chardonnay always expresses the tussle between fruit and minerality, between overtness and restraint. By walking the tightrope we can deliver a wine that truly reflects the place and region it comes from.
Wheat, grapefruit & white peach on the nose, lovely creaminess on the palate all wound together with lovely minerality to produce a wine with tension and finesse.
Viticulturist's Notes
Our B95 Chardonnay is situated on Block 2: a flat block which overlooks the Omihi Stream. Located on rich clay soils these rows run to a North-South orientation with 2500 vines / Ha.
Our Mendoza vines are on Block 12: a very steep limestone slope facing North with low vigour and good exposure to sun and wind throughout the growing season. Crop loads are always low in this block. The 2010 season provided us with naturally low crops and very concentrated fruit.
Winemaker's Notes
All bunches were hand selected; with a portion whole bunch pressed and a portion macerating pre-press. Free run and pressings were treated separately as juice before all went through fermentation in French oak and 45% going through malo-lactic fermentation the following spring. The wine was bottled un-fined a year after harvesting. Grestone Chardonnay is released after 6 months bottle age.
Alcohol 14.4%
Brix at Harvest 24.4
pH 3.49
R/S nil
Date of Harvest 13th to 18th April 2010
If you like a good oaked Chardonnay, you should try this wine. New French barrel aged for 6 months, the oak and vanilla come through on the nose. The palate though is more restrained with a lovely creaminess, stonefruit characters and minerality that comes through from the terroir.
It is a a blend of Mendoza and B95 clones with 45% having had secondary malo-lactic fermentation.
Cellar To 2015