Colour: Light straw, bright and clear with light green hues. Bouquet: Lifted citrus and meringue aromas combined with vanillin oak in the background. There is a hint of toffee with a terrific varietal complex nose. Palate: Fresh and racy citrus and cream flavours fill the mouth, the structure is textured and long with great balance and poise. The varietal Chardonnay fruit is sweet and in perfect harmony with the oak. A beautiful Chardonnay. Winemaker’s comments: A lot of work has been undertaken in the last 2 -3 years to bring the Dalwhinnie Chardonnay up another notch. Some of these vinification techniques include light whole bunch pressing, chilling of the juice prior to 100% barrel fermentation and finally battonage or lees stirring with 15% wild yeast fermentation. All of these techniques go towards making a finer but more textured and complex Dalwhinnie Chardonnay. The wine almost has the structure of Chablis. The Chardonnay vines are now 28 years old and crop at around 1.5 tonnes per acre. Drink now or keep 6 years. A blinder of a wine. |