SOLD OUT - CRFT 2019 Chardonnay – The Arranmore Vineyard NASAA Certified Organic

The Wine

Lemon and lime at first with savoury biscuity flavours and orange zest. Toasty oak flavours and vanilla spice interlaced perfectly with the aromatics and bouquet. The palate jumps with stone fruit, mango and apricot and perfectly balance natural acidity. Showing exceptional length with the classic Arranmore Chardonnay pine-lime creamy flavour lingering on and on.

An elegant and restrained Chardonnay, that opens to show an amazing breadth of flavour.

Drinking beautifully at release and will continue to develop with bottle age. Cellar 10 years, possibly longer.

Suggested serving temperature 7-10C

Alcohol - 12.5% alc/vol

Sugar/GF - Dry/<0.1g/L

RRP - $45

Release – April 2020

The Winemaking 

Harvested 8th March 2019.

Hand-made by Candice & Frewin at their winery in Carey Gully.

100% NASAA Certified Organic Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, hand-picked.

Whole bunch pressed followed by wild fermentation on full solids in tank, then transferred to oak for barrel fermentation around half way through ferment.

Some light lees stirring with full malo-lactic fermentation in oak.

Matured for 8 months in 100% French oak, 50% 1yo, 50% 2yo oak.

Bottled November 2019. 29 dozen produced. Vegan friendly.

 

The Vineyard                                  

The Arranmore Vineyard has been farmed organically since Frewin & Candice took ownership in January 2016 and is now NASAA Certified Organic (February 2019).

Estate-owned, managed and farmed, the 5-acre Arranmore Vineyard planted from 1995-1998, is situated at Carey Gully in the Piccadilly Valley (Adelaide Hills).

Elevation - 545 meters

Aspect - East facing

Planted - 1995-1998

Map - 34°58'07.5"S 138°45'38.1"E

Soil - Rich dark loam with clay and gravel mix, small pieces of quartz and ironstone sprinkled throughout.

Sold out - CRFT 2019 Mencia – The Schmidt Vineyard

The Wine 

Lifted and aromatic the nose shows blackcurrant, pomegranate and blackberry jam, with secondary characters of beetroot, chocolate bullets and leather polish. Tea leaf and dried prune add to the complexity. Super juicy palate bursting with plush concentrated red fruit and smooth supple tannins.

A beautiful wine to drink right now or watch it age and develop over the coming few years.

Ready to drink at release or cellar for up to 5 years (possibly beyond!).

Suggested serving temperature 16-17C

Alcohol - 13.5% alc/vol

Sugar/GF - Dry

RRP - $31

Released - April 2020

The Winemaking     

Harvested 5th March 2019, 1.5 Tonnes.

Hand-made by Candice and Frewin at their winery in Carey Gully.

100% Barossa Valley Mencía grapes, hand-picked.

Wild fermented in an open-top tank, gentle hand plunge only, 10 days on skins, then pressed to barrel for malolactic fermentation and maturation.

Matured for 9 months in 100% French oak, 25% 1yo old, 75% older oak.

Bottled December 2019, 104 dozen produced. Vegan friendly.

The Vineyard

The Schmidt family own and farm the Mencía vines at Vine Vale in the Barossa Valley.

Organically farmed (uncertified) from 2018/2019 growing season.

Planted - 2012 (half grafted, half planted on own roots)

Soil - Deep sandy loam topsoil, over deep red clay subsoil.

Map -34.495745, 139.010397

Mencía – About the variety

Mencía (pronounced MEN-cee-ah or MEN-thee-ah) is a Spanish native grown mostly in the northwestern corner of Spain and if you enjoy Pinot Noir you should definitely give this a go!

The variety often shows lifted aromatics of red fruit, floral notes and earthy tones. It can be medium to full bodied and suits savoury red meat dishes, poultry or wild game, and vegetarian dishes such as mushroom risotto.

In Australia, there’s just a tiny handful of plantings and producers, with the variety found in South Australia’s McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley as well as the Pyrenees Wine Region in Victoria and Orange in New South Wales. Australian Mencía will be an exciting variety to watch over the coming decades as our vines age and as we learn how to grow Mencía in our climate.

In 2019 our second planting of Mencía was established at the Rohrlach Vineyard in the Barossa Valley and we look forward to producing our second single vineyard Mencía in the future.