Viticulture

The whole of Marlborough experienced a mild winter and unseasonably warm spring during the 2006 vintage, and nowhere more so than in the unique terroir of the ‘Golden Mile’ in the Rapaura sub-appellation where the Staete Landt Vineyard is situated.
As a result we gained an early bud-burst and good healthy growth through to the beginning of flowering. A wet, variable period then ensued resulting in reduced fruit set and providing us with a desirable and modest crop level for our Chardonnay. The following weeks through to veraison were more settled and we performed less fruit removal than in recent years. The summer months became more settled and we experienced an increase in average daily temperatures with mild nights. This combination gave us rich, full and expressive clean fruit with great concentration and complexity in an earlier than usual harvest.
The grapes were all hand-picked from four different Chardonnay parcels comprising of clone 95 and clone 15 planted on three different rootstocks: Riparia Gloire, 101-14 and Schwarzmann. Each clone and rootstock combination is mirrored on different soil types within the Estate vineyard giving fruit from each of the parcels great individuality.

Harvest Dates: March 30 – April 4 2006
Brix: 24.5 – 25.0

Winemaking

Only hand picked grapes were used for this wine. These were whole-bunch-pressed to produce the finest most delicate juice. This juice was settled briefly before being racked straight to barrels to undergo fermentation. The wine was fermented in a mixture of 20% new French oak and 80% older French oak barrels.
Half of the wine was allowed an indigenous yeast fermentation adding complexity and extra mouth-feel to the wine.
Following the alcoholic fermentation the barrels were stirred regularly until completion of the secondary malo-lactic fermentation. They were then aged on lees until they were eventually racked in August 2007. In all the wine was aged in barrel for a total of 19 months. After the final racking the different component wines were blended together, lightly fined and then kept in tank to clarify just prior to bottling.

Wine Analysis

Alcohol: 14%; Acidity: 6.45 g/l; pH: 3.29; Sugar: <2.0 g/l

Tasting Note

This wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels the majority of which were older than 5 years and approximately 25% were new. This has produced a complex yet subtle wine that has an intense, ripe nectarine, leesy aroma overlaying a creamy almond, vanilla character, rather than overt fruitiness. This is a full bodied and elegant wine, with a dry and crisp finish.