The 2021 SRS Chardonnay shows lovely lifted fruit together with some delicate savoury notes from solids and wild ferment. Grapefruit, white peach and dried pear give way to barrel ferment and funky match stick complexities. Fine fruit flavours in line with a cooler vintage, wild barrel ferment and subtle sulphides contribute a delicious savoury oyster shell/saline character on the palate, giving the wine greater complexity and overall purity. This modern style ultimately complements many Australian food flavours, particularly seafood.
WINEMAKING NOTES
After overnight cold storage the fruit was whole bunch pressed into French oak puncheons before undergoing full wild yeast fermentation. To achieve a portion with high grape solids we rotated the press after filling. The key to successful wild fermentation is the use of high turbidity juices, minimal sulphur dioxide, low alcohols and juices with good nutrient content. The SRS Chardonnay was barrel fermented in 40% new French puncheons and then aged for 9 months.
