2018 Vintage
THE GOOD GUYS MUSE
Restrained, mineral style focussed on elegance with a white fruit character, some oatmeal and some complexity gained from percipient applied wood.
Richard Kershaw blocked the malolactic fermentations on his Elgin Chardonnay to preserve acidity in a warm vintage. Made from nine different vineyards, this is still a comparatively ripe, textured style, more Meursault than Puligny-Montrachet perhaps, with buttery lees, some nectarine and citrus fruit and subtle wood.
ACCOLADES
92 points Tim Atkin (MW)
93 points Winemag Prescient Chardonnay Report
WINEMAKING
Grapes were hand-picked in the early autumnal mornings, placed into small lug baskets and tipped directly into a press before being gently whole-bunch pressed up to a maximum of 0.6 bar or until a low juice recovery of 615 litres per ton was obtained using our new Willmes Sigma 5 press. The juice gravity-flowed directly to barrel (no pumps were used at all) without settling. The unclarified juice had no enzymes or yeast added to it and therefore underwent spontaneous fermentation until dry, with malolactic discouraged. The wine rested in barrel for 4 months prior to judicious sulphuring and a further 7 months’ maturation in barrel before racking, blending and bottling.
BLEND
100% Chardonnay made from Dijon clones CY96, CY95, CY76 and the Entav clone CY548