The Chardonnay vines for this wine were meticulously maintained to showcase our Beamsville Bench terroir. All grape bunches were exposed to sunlight at fruit set by removing leaves on both East and West sides of the canopy to maximize ripening. Green harvesting - the removal of under-ripe bunches - was performed at the first sign of colour change in berries from green to gold. This is known as veraison. A meager 12 bunches per vinewere selected to hang on the vine to promote ripening, concentrate flavours and best express our terroir from the three vineyards.

All fruit was handpicked, sorted and whole bunch pressed to yeild the most pure juice. After cold settling for 48 to 72 hours, the juice was racked off its lees, warmed and then transferred to barrel. The wine was fermented with native yeasts reaching a peak of 24-26 Degrees Celcius. Malolactic fermentation occured naturally and all the barrels were stirred weekly during aging. The barrels for this wine were selected and blended in August 2009, and filtered before bottling in September.

Winetasting Notes

Inviting golden colour, The intense and generous nose shows complex aromas of ripe apricot, baked pears, dried figs, cinnamon and marzipan. The 2008 Estate Chardonnay is a rich wine with great intensity, luscious texture and finesse. Powerful aormas of white peaches, apricots, Meyer lemons and roasted almond predominate while remaining true to our terroir. The palate is appealing for its fleshy nature and the wine has structure and length to be aged gracefully for the next 5-8 years.