Maturation
Maturation for 10 months in new and used French oak – 15% new, 85%
older
Palate
The Chardonnay grown on this property always produces wines with coiled
acidity with notes of lime leaf, lemon verbena and white flowers.
Vinification
100% hand picked - very small bunches.
Whole bunch pressed, juice transferred to barrel by gravity with no settling.
Fermentation in 500L French puncheons, some of which went through
malolactic fermentation. Bâtonnage monthly.
Mercurey, Taransaud and Dargaud & Jaeglé
Cellaring Potential
Now - five years
Vintage Notes
2022 was a high quality but low yielding season in the Yarra Valley.
A very cool, wet and stormy spring resulted in some challenging conditions
around flowering and hence very poor fruit set. The season proceeded to
dry out into December, with a dry and warm Christmas period.
This exacerbated the already small bunch weights, leading to bunches that
weighed up to 40% lower than average.
The mild summer meant long, slow ripening and flavour concentration
throughout summer, with some well-placed rain in January refreshing the
vineyards at just the right time.
The strong canopies and low fruit load meant we sailed neatly into picking
with very little disease or weather pressure affecting our picking decisions.
The grapes from 2022 came off the vine with lovely concentration and
flavour and great natural acidity.
Region Notes
Wombat Creek Vineyard is the highest altitude vineyard in the Yarra Valley,
making it an ideal location for the production of extreme cool climate
wines. The vineyard was originally planted in 1988 with the intention of
producing base wine for sparkling production but over the years has been
gradually transitioned to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for table wine.
The underlying ferrous (red) based volcanic soil and rock produce a
distinctively soft yet long and firm palate that contrasts with the finer
palates seen from the nearby Applejack Vineyard (basalt based volcanic).
