Chantilly Chardonnay 2017
Aromatic, floral, musky yet with the citrus freshness you might look for in a French white Burgundy made in an Australian style from California fruit. What a mouthful!
Just like a Grand Cru Chablis this wine saw only 25% new oak which means the special character of the Dry Creek Valley soil and climate can shine through, preserving some minerality and letting the flavor of the fruit show, yielding a Chardonnay to love.
This 2017 Chantilly is showing some citrus and flower aromas, a lovely mouthful with a slightly wet-stone or chalky minerality then peach flavors in the finish.
California’s 2017 harvest was early following summer heat spurts and a growing season that saw significant rain ending a five-year drought. The increased rainfall also brought vine-vigor challenges, requiring special focus on cover crops and tillage and closely managing canopies.
Our Dry Creek Valley Chardonnay delivered excellent aromatics and great acidity, but the overall crop size was lower than prior years.
As usual we barrel fermented our two Amourette and Chantilly Chardonnay, the quality of each turning out to be quite high but resulting in insignificant quantities of each to satisfy our wine club demands.
We therefor experimented with something we have been contemplating for several years, blending the two Chardonnay, approximately 40% Clone 76 and 60% Clone 809. The resulting wine has textbook metrics and became a unique, completely homogeneous wine.
Twelve months in French Oak, approximately 30% new; 30% one use; 40% two or more use.
Only 415 cases of Chantilly 2017 could be produced.
| Color | White |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2017 |
| Style | White Burgundy |
| Appellation | Dry Creek Valley |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Date Bottled | 26th Jun 2018 |
| Alcohol | 14.20% |
| Bottle Size | 750ml |
| PH Level | 3.39 |
