1314 Chardonnay 2022
The 1314 range of wines are made from all estate grown fruit in a vibrant, nouveau style for early enjoyment and refreshing drinking.
- Viticulture
- Winemaking
- Tasting Notes & Reviews
1314 Chardonnay is made from a blend of fruit grown on our established vineyards; the oldest vines planted in 1976, through to the most recent 2016 planting. This wine is a barrel selection based on an earlier bottling regime and a younger drinking window.
Wild yeast fermentation in French oak hogsheads of which approximately 20% is new, followed by partial malolactic fermentation.The wine was left on lees unstirred for 8 months prior to blending and bottling.
The 2022 growing season started out with substantial winter and spring rains as a result of La Nina but dried out around Christmas and into the new year. A warm Jan and Feb led to a very consistent and well paced ripening period, and the Chardonnay fruit was picked in very good condition over a two week period.
2023 Vintage
The 2023 growing season started off cold and wet. For the first time since 2011 our dam was full, and in fact overflowed for most of October and November (rainfall for the calendar year of 2022 was 800mm). Budburst was slightly behind average timing, but crops were down significantly: the bunch counts were low in the first place, we had a mild frost in September and the wet weather finally caught up with us via downy mildew. The rain stopped at the end of December.
The overall heat accumulation was the same (1338 Growing Degree Days) as 2021, both seasons on the slightly cooler side of average but differing in that the heat for 2023 was more toward the second half of the season. Veraison occurred in February and then we picked Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling in March, and Shiraz and Cabernet/Merlot in the first week of April. The picking weather was pleasant and the fruit arrived at the winery in very good condition.
While quantity was down (especially in Pinot Noir) quality was good: fresh acidity, concentration, colour, tannin and steady fermentations have us looking forward to bottling, and seemingly warmer and drier seasons as El Niño returns.
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