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With earlier picking and more wild-ferment barrels, this is our most complex Chardonnay to date. While vivid, tight and fresh, there is texture to the front palate and creamy length to the back, interlaced with layers of fruit and savouriness.
Our Chardonnay has always been made to express the vineyard, but with some savouriness from traditional winemaking. Barrel-fermented and stirred on lees for about nine months, the aim is to build complextiy and texture. The proportion of new oak has gone down in recent years, and there had been no malolactic fermentation since 2002. As a result, the wines are tighter, fresher and develop better (the 2005 won a gold medal in 2010).
In 2010 we set aside a parcel of seven barrels to go a little bit 'wilder'. There were no additions to the juice, which was settled in tank only as long as it took to rinse the barrels, and was all fermented wild. Most of these barrels did complete malolactic fermentation. In the end, it made a great textural wine, but the blend with the 'normal' barrels (many of which were also wild ferments) was more complete and harmonious.
"While by and large Canberra's a little too warm for cutting-edge chardonnay, Mount Majura makes a delicious, age-worthy style, like the 2005 that won a gold medal in last year's regional show. Winemaker Frank van de Loo writes that earlier picking and blocking most components from malo-lactic fermentation increases the tautness and longevity of the wine. And, in recent years, increasing the proportion of wild yeast ferments added to the texture and length of flavour. We bought our bottle at Grazing, Gundaroo, and came back for seconds such were its juicy delights." (Chris Shanahan, Canberra Times Food & Wine, Weds 6 July 2011)
"The move to earlier picking and wild ferment has paid dividends over the past few years; this continues the line from the '09, with a tangy, savoury/minerality underlying the fruit and lengthening the palate. Rating: 94, Drink By: 2016." (James Halliday Australian Wine Companion)
Chardonnay 2010 Information Sheet. Cellar Door/Mail Order: $26. Purchase online
