2022

Church House Barrel Fermented Chardonnay

Rich and weighty

 

This elegant barrel fermented Gisborne Chardonnay is big, rich and full with great length and weight.

 

GOLD MEDAL – NZ International Wine Show, 2023

94 POINTS – Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

93 POINTS – Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

 

VARIETAL

100% Chardonnay

VINEYARD

Tietjen

CLONE

Mendoza

APPELLATION

Hexton Hills

VINTAGE

2022

Profile

Dry

ALCOHOL

13.5%

TA

5.24 g/L

pH

3.60

RESIDUAL SUGAR

<1.0 g/L

VOLUME

750 mL

Church House Barrel Fermented Chardonnay

Vineyard Review

The grapes for this elegant Gisborne Chardonnay are grown from two select parcels from the Tietjen vineyard in the Hexton Hills or “Golden Slopes” appellation of Gisborne.  This narrow 10km strip is made up of small parcels of elevated sloping land. Medium to heavy Kaiti clay base is overlaid with 20-30cm of light black topsoil, with influences from the limestone foothills. The site has had a rich history in producing award-winning Chardonnay for over 20 years and the wine is made from the Mendoza clone of Chardonnay. The vines achieved good ripeness and with low yields came excellent flavours and weight to the fruit.

Winemaking

Harvested in the cool of the morning, the fruit for this wine reached superb ripeness after another warm summer in Gisborne. A portion of the grapes were hand harvested and some machine harvested.  With the machine harvested grapes, the juice was cool fermented in tanks till dry and then underwent full malolactic fermentation and spent 4 months on lees. The hand-picked fruit was gently pressed and fermented in a combination of American and European barrels. The barrels selected here are from the parcels we don’t deem quite good enough to make our Irwin “flagship” Chardonnay but are still of exceptional quality to even be considered! The wine also undergoes full malolactic fermentation. The tank portion also spends time on lees in the barrels before the final blending. The wine is then stabilized, filtered and bottled.

Tasting Notes

Colour

Light golden colour.

Aroma

Ripe peach and melon layered with butterscotch and toasty oak notes.

Palate

The palate is big, rich and full with great length and weight.

Food Match

Enjoy with seafood, white meats and cheeses.