The Chardonnay vines for this wine were meticulously maintained to showcase our Beamsville Bench terroir. All grape bunches were exposed to sunlight at fruit set by removing leaves at both East and West sides of the canopy to maximize ripening. Green harvesting - the removal of under-ripe bunches - was performed at the first sign of colour berries from green to gold. This is known as véraison. A meager 12 bunches per vine were selected to hang on the vine to promote ripening, concentrate flavours and best express our terroir from the three vineyards.

All fruit was hand picked, sorted and whole bunch pressed to yeild the most pure juice. After cold settling for 48 to 72 hours, the juice was racked off its lees, warmed and then transferred to barrel. The wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts reaching a peak of 22-24 degrees Celcius. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally and all barrels were stirred weekly during ageing. The barrels for this wine were selected and blended in July 2010, and filtered before bottling in September. 

Winemaker's Comments

Brilliant golden hue. The bright, perfumed nose shows classic cool-climate aromas of citrus oil, roasted hazelnuts and flinty minerality. The palate is appealing for its creamy nature and warm winter spice notes of cinnamon and cloves. Oak on this 2009 Estate Chardonnay is well integrated and the wine shows good structure, length and is destined to age gracefully for the next 5-8 years.