2023 was a tricky year, it was the last year of the La Nina so it was cooler and wetter than normal. Thus making it challenging to mitigate disease but we were fortunate not to have any problems. The reds are typically more fruit forward from this year with less tannin, easy to drink straight out of the bottle, which is not a bad thing. On the other hand the chardonnays cropped very low due to the poor conditions, so acidity is up and so is complexity. I think they will need a bit of time, but they look good already. Overall I am very happy considering the challenging vintage, but it is just a lot harder to grow and make them!
The 2023 Chardonnay is a blend of barrels(some older some newer), the fruit comes off the Stefano Lubiana Granton Estate Vineyard, the chardonnay is grown on a mix of brown/grey loam over gravel. Made much in the same way as previous years, juice straight to barrel, wild ferment, full malo, on lees for 10 months and 3 months in tank. I used little new oak due to cooler conditions not wanting to over power the delicate fruit. I would recommend decanting it if opened young. Bottled onsite unfiltered. From certified biodynamic vineyards. Similar style to the 2022.
