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Vineyard
Our Geelong Chardonnay is grown in a vineyard planted in the late nineties and located in the Moorabool/Barwon Valley region north of Geelong. With vertical shoot positioning rows running north-south up and over a slight rise, the soil is mostly the black cracking clay commonly found on the volcanic plains that run west of Melbourne. Sections of the site have significant basalt rock content, giving depth and power.
Growing Season
A moderately wet winter was followed by a dry period combined with high-pressure systems, leading to some late frosts in the Moorabool and Barwon Valleys. The Bellarine and Surf Coast avoided the late frosts; however, significant wind events at flowering resulted in below-average crop yields.
The wet and humid growing season that followed was a true test of resilience. As the vines grew robustly, our vineyard manager worked tirelessly to control the resultant canopy, opening it up to allow airflow to prevent mildew.
Overall, the season was again ‘cool’, with no days rising above 40c and a few days over 35c. This led to excellent natural acidity levels, assuring wines of great finesse and elegance. The wines are of high quality and, most certainly, another great year that consumers will enjoy for years.
Winemaking
Due to the maritime climate and its propensity to degrade acid overnight, the fruit is picked more with acid in mind rather than sugar and thus much earlier than the other two sites. The fruit was whole-bunch-pressed at the winery and gently settled in tank overnight then racked to French oak barriques the following day. Indigenous fermentation started after two days with a long and slow ferment, maintaining cool temperatures below 16˚C. When dry, barrels were regularly tasted whilst going through malolactic fermentation, allowing each barrel to find its natural balance between depth and acidity. Due to the early pick, balance is generally found with approximately half of the malic acid being converted into lactic acid. The wine matured on yeast lees for 8 months before the best barrels were selected, blended, and bottled.
Independent Review
“The sling of pure fruit flavour, the mouthfeel, the inherent complexity. This is an outstanding release. It tastes of grapefruit and grilled peach, pure pear and cedar, and while it also boats flint and steel notes they are beautifully integrated, not to mention complementary. Provenance is clearly an elite producer.”
95 Points Campbell Mattinson – The Wine Front
(Published on 1 February 2024)
"Whole-bunch pressed, settled overnight and racked to French barriques (38% new) the next day. Some MLF depending on the batch. The richest and most powerful of the three ’22 regional chardonnays from Provenance. Here you'll find aromas of ripe stone fruits, toasted cashew and a little vanillin from the oak, which has already been absorbed by the fruit. Textured, structured and long. Buy all three chardonnays on release and have fun comparing them!"
96 Points. Philip Rich - Halliday Wine Companion
(Published 07 August 2024)
