1.5m Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay

Tapanappa 1.5m Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay is from a small section of the famous Tiers Vineyard that was replanted in 2003. Just 1.5 metres separates each vine and vine row, producing earlier ripening, fuller flavoured fruit.

The grapes are cooled to 2°C before gentle whole bunch pressing. After a short settling period, the partially clarified juice and its fluffy lees are racked to one third new French oak barrels.

The wine is seeded with yeast and fermented in the cool air of the Piccadilly Valley autumn. There is no malolactic fermentation, unlike the Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay from the original 1979 plantings.

Maturation on lees lasts well into summer. The wine is then racked and aged for several weeks further prior to bottling.

Straw green, Tapanappa 1.5m Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay displays fresh stone fruits alongside subtle savoury complexity from lees and oak. Cellaring potential is five years.