Kershaw Elgin Chardonnay Clonal Selection Elgin, 2018

A stunning wine, delicious to drink now but with much more potential. Pale in colour, the Clonal Selection 2018 Chardonnay has an intense bouquet with toasty oak, vanilla and stone fruits all jostling for a position. Still youthful on the palate, it already displays great depth of flavour with lemon, oatmeal, spices and a lingering passionfruit and toasty finish. The oak will integrate further with some cellaring. A complex wine with great balance and potential. Wet cool windy weather during flowering in 2018 in Elgin lead to measly yields as low as 18 hectolitres/ hectare for Chardonnay. Sporadic showers during the growing season helped provide some relief to the vines. The cooler than normal weather meant a slow ripening of grapes and lots of flavour. Dates for picking are decided upon by Richard, based on tasting of the grapes once analytical targets for sugar, acidity and pH have been met. In this case, grapes were hand-picked in the early autumnal mornings between March 1st and March 20th and immediately whole-bunch pressed with juice flowing directly to barrel via gravity. After spontaneous fermentation, the wine was matured a further 11 months in barrel. Richard and his right-hand man Dudley, taste and evaluate every single barrel every six weeks to monitor the evolution of each.