De La Terre Barrique Ferment Chardonnay 2022 750ML

Grapes for this wine were sourced from the same block as De La Terre's Reserve Chardonnay: Block 7, of their Hill Country Estate vineyard. These were hand-harvested to ensure complete control over the fruit arriving at the winery. Once in the winery, the grapes were whole bunch pressed at relatively light pressure to retain a tight and linear juice structure. In order to make a more fruit-driven style, the juice was handled with what Tony Prichard refers to as 'delayed SO2 addition' rather than the 'Hyperoxidation' technique he uses for the Reserve Chardonnay. In order to create a layer of complexity, slightly cloudy (rather than clear) juice was racked to barrels for fermentation. The juice was then aged in oak, where only  15% were new, to ensure a more fruit-driven, less oaky style. No 'wild' fermentation was used, in order to the fruit-driven component of this style. About 15% of the barrels went through malo-lactic fermentation to retain a fresher, tighter style with a fresh citrus seam running through the palate – as well as avoiding overt buttery characters. Each of the 2424 bottles produced is hand-labelled and individually numbered. Enjoy now through to the next 3-4 years.