Sandhill Chardonnay 2010

FLAVOUR PROFILE
Bright straw yellow colour with a bouquet of ripe red apple, pear, pineapple and yellow plum, perfectly balanced by vanilla extract and oak. A medium-bodied wine with a slightly rich mouth-feel balanced by fresh acidity and flavours of yellow apple, pineapple, tropical fruit and spice. The clean, fresh, lingering finish of lemon custard, green apple, pear, mineral and baking spice is intriguing. Pairs well with scallops in a cream sauce; grilled halibut; wild mushroom risotto; creamy pasta with smoked salmon; turkey pot pies; puff pastry wrapped chicken or salmon; roasted butternut squash cream soup; grilled chicken with a yogurt smoked paprika marinade.

GROWING CONDITIONS
A later than usual bud break and slightly cooler temperatures greeted the 2010 growing season.  Once summer finally arrived in mid-July, four weeks of fabulous heat and sunshine filled the "valley".  This wonderful weather lasted until mid-August, and through the important beginning stage of ripening called 'veraison'.  A gift from above came in late September with a spell of great weather, and October was drier than usual, which assisted in ending the vintage on a high note.  The grapes were left hanging about two weeks longer than usual to allow for complete ripeness.  Although grape tonnage was down, this enhanced the concentration of flavours. The last day of harvest, November 8, arrived with great promise for fresh and vibrant whites, and fruit-forward reds.

WINEMAKER NOTES
“One of our most important decisions with Sandhill Chardonnay is deciding when to pick the grapes.  The cooler 2010 vintage provided slower ripening, compared to the warmer 2009 vintage, however this assisted in developing perfect balance between ripe flavours, pH and acidity in the grapes.  When you taste this wine you will experience that balance and its fine texture.  We also increased the stainless steel fermented portion a little more, and prevented malolactic fermentation in both batches.  I believe this gives us a truer expression of the vineyard and thus, terroir.”