The King's Bastard Chardonnay

VARIETY

100% Chardonnay.

VINTAGE

Vintage 2017 delivered a smaller than predicted crop for Marlborough’s wine industry, ensuring the vibrant, fruit-driven wines the region is so well known for, were achieved. Summer started early with warm weather leading to good flavour development, indicating the potential for great wine. Our vineyard staff and winemakers spent plenty of time in those early days of the season, working out how to get the best balance from our vines – and ultimately into our wines. Nature threw in some challenges along the way, with a major November earthquake, a cool and windy summer and stints of rain in Autumn. Rigorous vineyard management and careful harvest decisions have ensured our Marisco wines have an exciting spectrum of flavours from our harvested grapes. A growing year of challenges – resulting in wines to remember!

WINEMAKING

Grapes for this wine were harvested later in the growing season to allow full ripening of the synonymous Pinot Gris flavours and acid profile. Whole bunches were pressed into mostly stainless-steel tanks with a minority being transferred into oak puncheons. Fermentation was carried out with cooler temperatures to retain the bright stonefruit aromas. Oak portions were stirred on a weekly basis to promote mouthfeel and roundness with the wine being assembled after 3-4 months on light lees.

ANALYSIS

Alcohol                 14.5%
pH                         3.58
T.A                        6.0g/L
Residual sugar      4.8g/L

TASTING NOTE

Rich aromas of ripe peach, apricot and grapefruit are intertwined with a nutty, spicy oak character. The lush palate invokes stone fruit flavours supported with an opulent texture derived from barrel componentry. The wine finishes deliciously dry with a bright citrus acidity.