2001 Howard Park Chardonnay Tasting Notes

The 2000/2001 growing season was almost perfect. The winter was very dry and the summer perhaps a little too warm, but for those growers with balanced, more mature vines and realistic crop loads, fruit quality was outstanding. In the pursuit of a more tightly structured Chardonnay, the large majority of our fruit was sourced from the significantly cooler sub-regions of Denmark and the Porongurup’s in the Great Southern. The cooler growing conditions allow the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly with better flavour development at lower grape sugar levels and therefore a lower alcohol level in the wine.
Select batches of Chardonnay were fermented in about 60% new and 40% one and two year-old French barriques. Approximately 25% of the barrels were lees stirred weekly for 10 months, developing savoury textural characters. The remaining barriques were sulphured to preserve their delicate flavour and structure and to restrict the occurrence of malolactic fermentation. The wine was blended in January 2002.

The 2001 Chardonnay combines cool-climate flavours with texture and complexity in a wine that is both delicate and subtle. The nose is an enticing combination of floral, citrus, and stone fruit aromas supported by a richer savoury note from lees stirring, with hints of smoky, nutty barrel ferment characters providing background complexity. The seamless palate is both tightly structured and textured with flavours of citrus fruits, honey melon, a savoury mid-palate and lingering grapefruit. Fine acids suggest some potential to develop in the bottle.