Toi Toi Reserve Gisborne Chardonnay 2020

Toi Toi Reserve Gisborne Chardonnay 2020Spicy oak Apple & peach Crme brulee Fine acidity Light golden straw in colour with yellow nectarine, hints of lemon curd, caramel and spicy oak on the nose. Clean and focused on the palate with flavours of yellow apples, grapefruit, and peach with crme brulee supported by soft toasty oak. Fine acid with good persistence. Medium to full palate. Sourced from Brunton Road Vineyard located on the Patutahi Plateau. The Patutahi Plateau is one of the

• Spicy oak
• Apple & peach
• Crème brulee
• Fine acidity

Light golden straw in colour with yellow nectarine, hints of lemon curd, caramel and spicy oak on the nose. Clean and focused on the palate with flavours of yellow apples, grapefruit, and peach with crème brulee supported by soft toasty oak. Fine acid with good persistence. Medium to full palate.

Sourced from Brunton Road Vineyard located on the Patutahi Plateau. The Patutahi Plateau is one of the youngest growing areas within the Gisborne appellation. Already showing significant promise, the Kaiti clay loam soils in this growing area have produced premium, richly flavoured wines – Golden Queen peach, Ripe citrus, and fig notes. It is generally warmer and drier than other Gisborne growing areas.

The fruit (Mendoze & Clone 5 Chardonnay) is harvested mid to late March. Machine harvested in the cooler evening or early morning. The fruit is taken directly to a local winery for juicing. Gently pressed, the free run is kept separate from the pressings. Free run juice is settled for 24hrs then racked taking some of the grape solids. The solids are an important part of the fermentation process. As the yeast ferments the juice, they break down providing weight and texture to the wine. The pressings are hyper-oxidized to remove phenolics and add a caramel note then added back to the free run. The juice is chilled and transported overnight to their winery in Marlborough. The Reserve portion goes straight to 500 litre puncheons (barrels). The barrels are fermented a more neutral strain allowing the complex barrel fermentation notes to show through. When fermentation is completed the wines are left un-sulphured on full lees. The lees are stirred on a weekly basis to aid autolyses (break down of the yeast cells releasing mannoproteins – texture and mouth feel). During this time secondary, Malolactic fermentation occurs, this is stopped at around 20-25% adding a creamy layer while not being dominate. After 5-6 months the wine is racked off lees and is prepared for bottling.