Analysis:
Alcohol: 13.5 % | PH: 3.62 | Titratable acidity: 6.03 g/L
Tasting Notes:
This wine displays classic primary aromas of stone fruit, green apple, and melon. The complexity of the aroma profile is richly enhanced with generous notes of vanilla, nutmeg and other various spices originating from the barrel fermentation. On the palate, the fruit and oak flavours meld together seamlessly to create a complex expression of Okanagan Chardonnay. Texturally, the wine is beautifully balanced, displaying smooth, luscious mouthfeel and a long, clean finish.
Wine Making:
It was a summer of relative warmth that held through to August. Unusually cool and wet weather in late September and early October delayed the ripening of some red varietals. However, the quality of grapes grown was generally good for the Okanagan.
The grapes for this wine were harvested from the Burrowing Owl Estate vineyards in September, 2008. The fruit was whole-cluster pressed and the juice drained by gravity flow into stainless steel tanks where it was chilled and allowed to settle for 24 hours to remove excess solids. It was then racked off its lees and inoculated with a mixture of preferred yeast strains selected for aromatic and textural contributions. The wine was then transferred to a mixture of barrels from our preferred coopers (90% French, 10% American, 50% new, 50% one year old) for barrel fermentation and partial malolactic fermentation. After fermentation, the wine was held in barrel for approximately 9 months and the yeast lees were stirred fortnightly to further enhance mouthfeel. The wine was then removed from barrels and stabilized in preparation for bottling.
