Description
This leading Pipers River producer in Tassie has done well here. Michael Caldwell (viticulturalist/winemaker- with experience at Te Kairanga and Joseph Chromy) overseas the 12 hectare vineyard and employs classical Pinot Noir winemaking techniques: hand sorting fruit, cold soaking, whole bunch inclusion, hand-plunging and wild fermentation; to create wines that combine fruit intensity with layers of texture and persistent varietal characters.
About this wine from the winemaker: A patchwork of biodiversity surrounds the vineyard home to this expressive Chardonnay. It screams personality, structure, and incredible length and depth, largely thanks to the proximity to Bass Strait’s cooling sea breezes and resulting long ripening period. This a curvaceous wine, full of cheeky minerality. Don’t like Chardonnay? Think again. There’s beauty in restraint here … not a hint of over-the-top fruitiness to be found.
Pipers River Chardonnay is about the expression of the fruit from the estate which gives naturally higher acidity, with concentrated, elegant fruit characters from the deep loam soil, old vines and cool maritime climate. Well sheltered from the cool north-westerly winds by the Dalrymple hill, these blocks enjoy a microclimate that is slightly warmer in temperature. Basalt rocks in the soil provide good water drainage, whilst also allowing vines to penetrate to great depth, accessing water in dry conditions.
The 2021 season in Pipers River was defined by a cool, windy spring followed by a cool to mild summer and long, dry, warm autumn. This extended the length of the growing season by about ten days from average.
The fruit was meticulously hand-picked before whole bunch pressing, and then placed into a mix of new and older French oak puncheons and a 700 litre ceramic egg for 10 months. Winemaking included fortnightly stirring to develop texture and malolactic fermentation to naturally adjust acidity for balance and structure.
Initial aromas of spice, lemon curd and grapefruit opens to stone fruits with a hint of peach yogurt. The palate is defined with brilliant, fine acidity, the texture of sun-kissed quartz and crushed oyster shell. Flavours of pear fill the mid-palate, with a seam of citrus keeping focus on the long, salivating finish. 13% alc.
93 points, Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion “Great velocity and detail with this release: pure stone and citrus fruits are taut and focused on a canvas of crystalline acidity and stone. Underlying tones of soft spice, oatmeal, white flowers, lemon sherbet and nougat with a sizzling mineral focus and great precision on the sustained finish.”
93 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review “Light straw-yellow hue; the bouquet shows slightly muted vegetal and ‘worked’ characteristics, possibly some malolactic influence, and traces of silage and sweetcorn. The palate is rich and refined at the same moment, crisp and dry with a lift of tannin chew, and a lingering finish. Good flavour concentration. A touch eccentric but not that unusual for a Tassie chardy.”
RRP $59 **Our Special Price $49.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine**
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