1998 Rosemount Estate Chardonnay

WINEMAKER: Philip Shaw

ORIGIN: Chardonnay is one of the world's most popular quality grape varieties. It is a vigorous variety that adapts well to a wide range of soils and climatically it is well suited to the excellent conditions of the Australian climate, where the variety has become known for producing distinctively full, rich and complex wines. Fermentation and maturation in oak barriques greatly enhances complexity and serves to underscore the inherent generosity of the variety.

VITICULTURAL NOTES: The Chardonnay fruit for this wine has been selected from our Hunter Valley vineyards, with a proportion of McLaren Vale fruit used for added palate richness. The warm, dry 1998 vintage has proved instrumental in providing exceptional quality fruit, hence providing winemakers with a base from which to make wines of exceptional quality and depth of varietal flavour. The Hunter Valley fruit has shown particularly good flavour definition, with superb balance between fruit and acidity.

WINEMAKING NOTES: Following gentle crushing, the must was chilled in order to prevent loss of flavour. The grapes were pressed as quickly as possible and the juice cooled and held for 48 hours to allow the grape solids to settle. The clear juices were racked to fermenting tanks and selected yeast added to initiate a stable fermentation. A proportion of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation whilst ageing in French oak, with the rest was matured on lees in tank, with the component parts being brought together into the final blend after substantial tasting.The 1998 Chardonnay has an attractive straw yellow appearance. The aroma is full, tropical and peachy with a creamy background indicative of the oak and lees maturation. The palate shows lovely rich Chardonnay fruit. The wine has excellent weight on the forepalate a satisfyingly rich middle and very good structure to the finish. There is excellent varietal definition and very good length.