The Vineyard
Chapel Valley Vineyard is owned and farmed by Sam Virgara.
Site location: Piccadilly Valley – Adelaide Hills
Map coordinates: -34.974428,138.737142
Pinot Noir Clones: 114 & 115
Planted: 2000
Elevation: 490 meters
Aspect: South facing
Rows: 10 to 14
Soil: Grey sandy loam with a gravel mix, clay subsoil.
Harvest: 26th March 2015
Tonnes: 2.51T
The Winemaking
Hand-picked, gently destemmed to retain whole berries with 20% whole bunches, five-day cold soaked prior to fermentation in stainless steel.
Gently hand plunged twice daily, allowing ferment temperature to peak at 30°C, 14 days on skins.
Matured for 10 months in 100% French oak barrels, 15% new oak, lees stirred in barrel for two months.
Unfined, unfiltered, vegan.
Bottled 15th February 2016 – 168 dozen
The Wine
Leeks grew on this gravelly south-facing slope until Sam Virgara decided to plant what is now one of the best Pinot Noir vineyards in the Piccadilly Valley.
The coolness of this south facing site always produces our most textural Pinot Noir, and often the lightest in colour. Orange-peel and spearmint showing again this year, a unique Chapel Valley character we see every year, as well as the abundant fresh blueberries and strawberry. Bright and lively, elegant as always, with a silky textural mouthfeel.
Drinking: Ready to drink now. Cellar to 2025, perhaps beyond.
Alcohol: 13.5% alc/vol
Reviews
94 points - James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
92 points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front