Chardonnay Riserva 2023
13.2% alc.
Production: 1183 bottles (screw cap)
The Wine:
The third offering of our Chardonnay Riserva is a true showcase of the exceptional 2023 vintage. This single block wine is from Wildberry Estate in the Heart of Wyliabrup sub-region. Hand picked, whole bunch basket pressed direct to barrique (50% new), wild fermented, wild malolactic ferment, extended lees contact and batonnage all add to the great complexity of this wine. This wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered and a harmless sediment may remain. With a heart of elegance and precision but also displaying undoubted power and complexity this wine will continue to evolve over many years.
The Vineyard:
Wildberry Estate is planted on karri-loam gravel soils with underlying laterite. The vine rows run north-to-south down a moderate north-facing slope. The Chardonnay clone used is GinGin, and the trellising is structured using Vertical Shoot Positioning. The vineyard is influenced by both the moderating Indian Ocean and the cool Southern Ocean breezes, causing slow, even ripening with naturally high acidity and excellent flavour ripeness.
The Vintage:
Margaret River’s 2023 vintage was the “Goldilocks” year — a season where each growth phase delivered just enough: winter cold and wet for a good dormancy and hydration of the vines, a mild spring with delayed budburst and gentle flowering, then summer that warmed without burning, with predictable easterly in the morning, and south westerly in the afternoon winds, punctuated with dry, cool nights. Yields were above average but the fruit showed taut structure, flavour complexity and vibrant acidity. In reds, firm but ripe tannins; in whites, vibrancy and elegance. Disease concerns were minimal; the result was a vintage that has all the chances to leave a mark in history of Margaret River, and I feel very fortunate to finding myself making wine in this year.
The Winemaking:
Hand-harvested into 8 kg small buckets at dawn and immediately brought to the winery. Whole-bunch, basket-pressed; only the free-run juice goes into the barrels. Four barrels were made, 50% of which were new Louis Latour oak barriques; the remaining two had been used twice before. Natural fermentation and malolactic conversion, then extended bâtonnage. The wine spent 14 months in the barrels, then was bottled unfiltered and unfined, with an additional year of bottle maturation.
Salutè,
Rob Gherardi
