Deen Vat 7 Chardonnay (2006)

Appearance
Pale lemon in colour.

Bouquet
Lifted nose of peach and melon with oak characters adding complexity.

Palate
A wine with richness and stone fruit flavours.

Vintage Conditions
Consistent rains leading up to the vintage maintained vine health and fruit freshness. A warm and dry harvest period resulted in good ripening conditions.

Winemaking
Fruit was selected from specific vineyards to give the desired stone fruit characters. Some of the juice was clarified prior to the addition of yeast. The juice was then allowed to ferment for a few days prior to being transferred to barrel for the remainder of the fermentatation period. A portion of the juice was fermented on French oak and another portion was fermented without oak. Approximately 20% of the wine completed malolactic fermentation to impart softness tothe texture of the wine.  20% of the wine was fermented in new American oak and 50% in one year old American oak. The barrel fermented wine was left on lees and stirred fortnightly for 5 months. 20% of the wine was fermented on French oak staves.

Wine Analysis
Alc/Vol : 13.5 %   pH : 3.45   TA : 6.70 g/L

Cellaring
This wine will drink well over the next 2 to 3 years.

Suggested Cuisine
A great match to chicken, seafood and light pasta dishes.

General Characteristics
Dry  Medium Bodied