Catalina Sounds Sound of White Chardonnay 2021 13% 750ml

Catalina Sounds Sound of White Chardonnay 2021 13% 750ml

Tasting Notes

Aroma
Hedonistic aromatics of warm brioche, apples simmered in butter, nougat and rolled oats.

Palate
While the palate has an element of fine texture initially, it softens and fills the mid-palate with fruit weight and flavour that is carried by well-balanced minerality and a brilliantly long finish.

Vinification
The fruit was hand-picked on the 19th of March and whole-cluster pressed, with the free run and hard pressings juice split into separate tanks. Only a small amount of sulphur was added at the tanks. The juice lightly settled for a day, and then racked to 500 L French Puncheons; 30% new and spontaneously fermented with “wild/indigenous” yeasts. The wine spent 12 months in oak before blending to tank, with full lees and left to quietly settle for another 4 months. The wine was lightly racked and bottled without fining or filtering in July 2021. A truly pure expression of vintage, site, climate and variety with minimal winemaking interference.

Vintage notes
The 2021 vintage certainly had its nuances compared to vintages over the last decade. Early spring frosts, combined with cool wet weather during flowering had a significant impact across Marlborough, resulting in yields being lower than average across the region. Summer turned out dry and warm, and with low-yields an early harvest was upon us; starting 10 days earlier than 2020. Fruit quality was exceptional this year and the wines certainly reflect this with strong vintage expression.

Food matching
A range of seafood dishes, hard cheeses and crisp green salads with fresh herbs.

Cellaring potential
While drinking well in its youth, this wine is made with an element of longevity in mind and will continue to improve with age over the next 7+ years when stored correctly.

Grape variety
Chardonnay

PH
3.32

Acidity
6.2 g/L

Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Marlborough, New Zealand
Winemaker: Matthew Ward