Eden Valley Chardonnay

Enjoy with a bowl of smoked salmon fettuccine, lemon zest, capers and creme fraiche.

The vineyards that contribute to this blend are scattered throughout Eden Valley, and have been selected especially for Chardonnay. These sites are characterised by their cool, high elevation and granitic, mica shist soils. The long ripening periods here are perfect for flavour accumulation and intensity. These different vineyard sites provide a rich tapestry of flavours, each adding their own unique character to the final blend. The lead up to vintage was warm and mild; with rain late in 2013 setting the vines up well for the harvest ahead. In the new year there was a series of warm weather events and a bout of unseasonably heavy rain followed, however, the weather quickly returned to much milder, dry conditions for the remainder of the vintage. This allowed the vines to recover and the fruit to fully ripen. The resulting wines show good flavour and aromatics with balanced acidity. A testament to vignerons vigilance, winemakers patience and the resilience of the grapevine!

Around 70% of the blend was fermented and matured in new and 1-2 year old fine-grained French oak barriques to add weight and texture, with the balance of the wine fermented in stainless steel to retain fruit freshness and vibrancy in the final blend.

The finer flavours produced by these clones, in combination with the use of natural ‘wild yeast’ fermentation by indigenous vineyard yeasts, produce a more complex and elegant wine with rich creamy flavour and tangy acidity. Palate structure and texture is further enhanced through extended lees contact and regular lees stirring after completion of fermentation.

Over five generations members of the Hill-Smith family have been pioneers in locating exceptional vineyard sites that maximise the personality of their wines. Since the wine was released in 1980 Hill-Smith Estate Sauvignon Blanc has been recognized as one of Australia’s finest Sauvignon Blancs. Our Chardonnays from the Adelaide Hills and Eden Valley are contemporary wines crafted from fruit cultivated in premium Chardonnay growing regions. These wines honour the contribution that Wyndham Hill-Smith OBE (1909 - 1989) made to wine sport and life in Australia. A talented amateur artist Wyndham painted the front label landscape scenes on all three wines. Well known as a cricketer Wyndham Hill-Smith both shared the crease with Bradman and faced Larwood at his peak. He was a keen thoroughbred owner with more than 500 race wins and well recognised as a generous host and charming raconteur. Importantly Wyndham oversaw in the 1960s and ’70s the innovative return of viticulture from the floor of the Barossa Valley to the cooler climes of the high altitude Barossa ranges known as Eden Valley. In these conditions finesse elegance and understated power replace the robust and earthy style of the lower altitudes.