Rochford Wines

Rochford Macedon Ranges Chardonnay

Vintage
2003

Varieties
100% Chardonnay

Tasting Notes
Brilliant light straw with a green edge. The nose shows classic cool climate chardonnay perfume combined with citrus and melon overlayed with nutty oak. The palate is tightly structured leading to a long rich finish. Barrel fermentation and maturation complements the fruit structure and adds depth and complexity to this wine. The malo lactic fermentation has created subtle complexities without being dominating. However there is still plenty of acidity to give length and freshness to the finish.

Cellaring
3 to 5 years

Winemaking
The great thing about making wine from fruit grown in a cool region is that the fruit arrives at the winery at a nice low temperature. This year we had fruit temperatures of about 15 degrees centigrade. This naturally low fruit temperature allows us to whole bunch press our chardonnay. This results in very high quality juice with well-defined fruit flavours, low phenolic extraction and very low solids levels. After overnight settling the juice was racked into French oak barriques and a pure yeast culture was added. Following primary fermentation the wine underwent 100% malo lactic fermentation and this was followed by 8 months maturation on yeast lees. The wine was racked from barrel in January and bottled in early March 2004.

Viticultural Notes
The 2002/2003 growing season was dry and mild. The fruit was hand picked on 22nd of April at 13.0 degrees Beaume. The fruit quality was excellent with good flavours and richness.

Technical Data
Alcohol 14.0%
pH 3.26
Titratable acidity 6.9 grams per litre
Residual sugar 0.5 grams per litre

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