Tim Lovett describes the estate-grown chardonnay fruit as a ‘miracle’. The fruit is mostly destemmed, chilled and cold-soaked under a blanket of CO 2 for eight hours to prevent oxidation and promote some skin contact to amplify flavour and texture. Some parcels of fruit are also whole-bunch-pressed to produce more solids and phenolic compounds. After cold-settling, the batches are racked into 100% new French oak. Among the many small refinements is the transition to 100% Bordelaise barriques. Tim Lovett believes in the concept of selecting oak ‘inside out’. He particularly appreciates the tight, slightly green-grained quality of maritime-influenced oak, because it does not overly transmit oaky flavours into the wine during barrel fermentation and maturation. After fermentation the wine is sulphured up and cold-stored in barriques to protect the pristine unsculptured fruit. During barrel maturation the wine is stirred weekly for three months and then every fortnight for eight months. After 11 months in oak, the wine is racked into refrigerated stainless steel for six months before assemblage and bottling. Tim Lovett says ‘the key points surrounding winemaking is that we seek to preserve fruit characters of the vineyard. This is achieved by taking a very light-handed approach. A touch of skin contact prior to fermentation and protective control during the maturation phase promotes flavour and purity of fruit. A fine-boned mineral structure and completeness is achieved through precision oak handling and preserving the natural levels of malic acidity in the wine. Nature takes care of the rest.’ Reputation Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay won a reputation among collectors for its cellaring longevity by the 1990s. After the release of the 1987 vintage, it became a reference and one of the few Australian chardonnays that could withstand the test of time. It quickly became the leading collectible Australian white wine in the Australian secondary wine market. It is regarded as an Australian First Growth and classified as ‘Exceptional’ in Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine . The much tinier Giaconda winery, in the Beechworth area of northeast Victoria, and Grosset Polish Hill Riesling from the Clare Valley in South Australia are the only two other Australian white wines that have achieved this accolade. Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay
20
The Vintage Journal – Great Estates Series
Powered by FlippingBook