2016 Whicher Ridge Whitetail
2016 Whicher Ridge Whitetail
Whitetail Sparkling Chardonnay is a blanc de blanc style and has been named after the flocks of endangered Whitetail black cockatoos that regularly visit our farm.
The grapes are handpicked when the sugar level is around 10.8 to 11.0 baume and when the grape flavours are in the greener spectrum of granny smith apple and lemons, but still retaining a high natural acidity level.
The grapes are chilled in the picking bins overnight, and then whole bunch pressed the next day. The juice is fermented in tank, then towards the end of ferment 14% of a barrel fermented chardonnay is blended in to provide weight and texture to the final wine. Once the ferment is dry, the wine stays on it’s yeast lees is allowed to go through malo-lactic fermentation.
The wine is filtered and bottled, then matured for another 14 months on yeast lees, on tirage, following traditional ‘methode champenoise’ procedures. The bottles are then riddled and disgorged.
The colour is medium to light-yellow and it has persistent mousse of bubbles. Aromas of lemon, granny smith apple, cashew nut and brioche, with hints of toast from development in the bottle. It’s soft and fruity, mouthfilling and rich on the palate, with a well-judged liqueur level and great drinkability. As it warms in the glass, some lovely honeyed complexities show through
A blanc de blanc sparkling made from chardonnay. The secondary ferment occurs in the bottle, which is when the magic happens and those glorious fine beads of bubbles are created. Whitetail is named after the endangered Whitetail Black Cockatoos who regularly visit our farm.
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