Blend: 100% Chardonnay
Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.0 % | PH: 3.6 | Titratable acidity: 5.8 g/L
Bottling Date: July 2007
Tasting Notes:
This wine displays classic stone-fruit aromas of white peach and white nectarine along with hints of orange blossom and rich toasted oak. The flavours continue onto the palate with the stonefruit and oak melding to transform the wine into a complex expression of Okanagan Chardonnay. Texturally, the wine is big and round in the mouth with a soft, viscous mouthfeel and a nutty, warm finish.
Wine Making:
The 2006 vintage was indeed one of the best vintages in the Okanagan. Near perfect growing conditions all season long, but especially in September and October, the key ripening months, gave wines with incredible richness and tannin structure.
The grapes for this wine were harvested from the Burrowing Owl Estate vineyards. 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 French and American barrels for barrel fermentation and partial malolactic fermentation. After fermentation, the wine was held in barrel for approximately 8 months and the yeast lees were stirred fortnightly to further enhance mouthfeel. The wine was then removed from barrels, stabilized and filtered in preparation for bottling, which occurred in July, 2007.
