HANDPICKED Wines Regional Selection Yarra Valley Chardonnay

HANDPICKED Wines Regional Selection Yarra Valley Chardonnay. 2019 was a warm season overall and the harvest was early. Cool weather and regular rain up until Christmas made a slow start to the season, setting up good ground moisture and vine health. January and February were dry and fairly mild, though the nights were warmer than usual. Fruit reached full ripeness easily and timing of picking was paramount for balancing natural acidity. Our fruit was harvested by hand at the end of February then whole-bunch pressed and settled in tank before transfer to tank and barrel for fermentation.

The wine underwent a partial malolactic fermentation and was aged for 10 months –part in stainless steel tank to retain fresh fruit flavours, part in barrel for added complexity. We used a mix of old and new French oak barrels.