Deconstructed Chardonnay: Each of the 3 Deconstructed Chardonnays has been sourced from a certain vineyard and a certain clone. Kershaw's aim is to prove that Elgin can fully "adopt" these noble grapes but also to highlight the specific "terroirs" that reflect the intra-regional characteristics in Elgin. More will be forthcoming as his research continues..
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It is sourced from the foothills of the Groenland Mountains in north Elgin, and clone CY548 is derived from Corton-Charlemagne cuttings. CY548 produces wines with aromas of lemon blossom, white flowers, wet earth and stone. On the body, they are full-bodied, with a great concentration of white stone fruit notes, with a dry texture and robustness that gives them excellent ageing potential. The Bokkeveld Shale soil adds structure and concentration to the flavour.
The grapes are picked by hand early in the morning, whole bunches are placed in small crates, which are transferred directly to the press at a maximum of 0.6 bar or until a concentration of 615 litres per tonne is reached. The juice flows directly into the barrel without the use of pumps, before the sediment settles. Spontaneous fermentation begins. The wine rests in barrels for 4 months before sulphurization and then matures in barrels for another 7 months before bottling.
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Barrels: A small number of barrels were selected, all from Burgundy, only French oak. Importantly, each clone and soil type was micro-distributed as a separate batch. Each lot used an algorithm set up to keep data on which barrels performed best and how many new and how many used barrels were used. Overall, the average in 2018 was 59.4% new oak barrels. 100% of 228 litres.