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Windy Peak Chardonnay 2010

Region
Victoria

Appearance
Vibrant yellow with a green hue.

Bouquet
Complex aroma of citrus like fruit characters. Bright and fresh with some subtle barrel integration for added complexity.

Palate
Zesty acid and citrus based fruit flavours dominate the palate with some texture and mouthfeel. This is derived from early harvesting and incorporating both tank and barrel fermentation.

Vintage Conditions
The 2009 – 2010 growing season saw our earliest budburst for sometime. Timely rainfall in early summer gave the vineyards some relief from a dry winter and spring. Conditions for ripening were ideal with warm daysand cool nights. The fruit was hand picked in the cool of the morning.

Winemaking
Once the fruit is crushed and pressed, it is allowed to settle overnight. This provides enough clarification for fermentation. Fermentation is carried out in a combination of oak and tank. Winemaking techniques used in winery include lees stirring, warmer fermentation temperatures (to increase texture and mouthfeel) and partial malo-lactic fermentation. These all combine to add further complexity to the finished wine.

Wine Analysis
Alc/Vol : 12.5 % pH : 3.26 TA : 5.8 g/L

Cellaring
This wine is made for immediate enjoyment.

Suggested Cuisine
This wine is a great match with grilled fish or chicken.

General Characteristics
Dry Medium Bodied

4.5 Stars
"This wine has converted heaps of my friends from cheap Kiwi sav blanc over to chardonnay. Blended from grapes grown around Victoria, including the Yarra and King valleys, it’s a wine of amazing finesse for the price. It’s flavoured with white stonefruit (flesh and blossom), melon, honey and a damp earth-like
character that adds interest and complexity. It’s smooth on the palate with an acid structure that gently builds and builds in a refreshing crescendo on the finish."

Ben Thomas, The Weekly Review, March 2012

4/5
"The De Bortoli stable of wines includes several chardonnays from an elite Yarra Valley style through to this superbly priced version. The cutting edge thinking behind the top range filters down for all to benefit here, with extraordinary elegance and style at this price, the wine offering the lightness, freshness and texture of many modern Australian chardonnays that are at
twice the price."

Tony Love , The Mercury, Courier Mail, Daily Telegraph and Adelaide Advertiser, October 2011

84 Points
"The subtlety with which De Bortoli’s Yarra Valley winemakers craft their
top-level chardonnays is evident in this, their entry-level wine. It’s light and delicate, fairly simple, with good drinkability.Nutty, yeasty, marzipan-like
aromas."

Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald and Maitland Mercury, September 2011

91 Points
"Often under $10, where else on earth can you find Chardonnay at this price with elegant minerality, pure white peaches, lemon zest, even a touch of lees complexity? You cant."

Tyson Stelzer, Wine 100, August 2011

88 Points
"A lighter style of chardonnay made to appeal as an everyday quaffer. It’s
a distinctly fruit-driven chardy with melon and minerally characters on
the palate and so little oak it may not even be there. It drinks beautifully
now which is what it’s meant to do. A good wine to get you back into
chardonnay at a budget."

, West Australian, August 2011

88 Points
"Light in style but a richness creeps into the middle very pleasant to drink."

Tony Keys, , July 2011

4/5 Stars
"Made at De Bortoli's Victorian headquarters in the Yarra Valley, this
chardonnay offers great value. The 2010 opens with delicate peach and melon fruit aromas. Oak influence is there mainly for its textural qualities,
leaving a charming, light-to-medium bodied, fruit-driven wine that is pleasantly quaffable, dry and easy to like."

Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age, June 2011

"Windy Peak - sourced from various Victorian regions, including the King and Yarra Valleys - is the softer of the two, in a subtle, taut but generous way. In Gulf Station, high acidity accentuates the lean, citrusy varietal flavour teasing its way through the richly textured, bone-dry palate. Both wines drink well now, but I expect the Gulf Station to gain complexity over the next 3-4 years."