This delightfully full but complex wine has wonderful melon, papaya and delicate mineral aromas, whilst the palate combines tropical fruit characters, nectarine and a restrained oak influence.

Foodmatch
A perfect wine for drinking on its own, this Chardonnay is also a great accompaniment to crustacean dishes. In time, the wine will develop richer, well-rounded and weighty characteristics making it well-suited to drinking with poultry dishes.

Viticulture
Our Chardonnay is planted on the western part of the Paritua Vineyard estate, surrounding the winery and bordering the Paritua stream. Clones 95 and 15 are grown on a standard two cane canopy enabling the grapes to achieve good ripeness, excellent flavour and balance. Chardonnay for the 2008 vintage was harvested on 15 March 2008.

Cellaring Potential
Drink now or cellar up to 2012.

Winemaking Notes
After whole bunch pressing, 60% of the juice was transferred to stainless steel tanks, while 40% was taken to a mixture of new and 1– 2 year old French oak barriques. This portion of the wine was kept on yeast lees for several months and stirred in barrel for additional complexity. Blending, stabilizing and bottling took place late November 2007.