Lourensford - Chardonnay 2012 75cl Bottle

Product Description

The wine has a straw-yellow colour with a green tinge. Zesty citrus, apricot & peach aromas characterize the nose with hints of fresh pears. The palate is full & rich with the fruit flavours that follow through from the nose, perfectly balanced by the wood. The wild fermented component gives a layered structure to the wine. 100% Chardonnay. All grapes were sorted for quality purposes after arrival at the winery. Destemming & crushing followed after which the mash was conveyed to the presses via a mash cooling system & rapidly cooled the mash to 6- 8°C. Light pressing followed & the juice was settled overnight at about 10°C. The clarified juice was racked to a fermentation tank where it was inoculated with a chosen yeast strain. Alcoholic fermentation was carried out at 18°C. Approx. 25% of the juice was racked directly to French oak barrels where fermentation took place with wild yeasts that occur naturally on the grape skins. Approx. another 25% of the wine started its fermentation in tank & was then transferred to barrel to finish its fermentation in French oak barrels. The wine was left in the barrels & on the coarse lees for up to 8 months. The lees were stirred up every two weeks to add to the complexity & structure of the wine.