Eden Valley Chardonnay

Enjoy with crispy skinned salmon fillet and Asian greens or chickpea falafel.

A wet winter set the vines up for a healthy start to the growing season. Spring was drier than average and resulted in good canopy growth. Summer was warm and dry, giving excellent fruit flavours in the grapes. Nights in the Eden Valley remained cool throughout harvest, which helped to retain fresh fruit flavours and good levels of natural acidity.

Around 40% of the blend was fermented and matured in new and 1-3 year old fine grained French barriques to add weight and texture, with the balance of the wine fermented in stainless steel to retain fruit freshness and vibrancy

The rugged, undulating high country of Eden Valley is one of Australia’s premier cool climate wine regions and home to some of the Hill-Smith family’s favourite vineyards. Fruit is sourced from original Burgundian clones, and the cooling gully breezes optimise Chardonnay of creamy citrus and melon flavours with balanced acidity. The finer flavours produced by the Burgundian clones, in combination with the use of natural wild yeast fermentation, result in a complex and elegant wine with rich, creamy flavour and tangy acidity. Palate structure and texture is further enhanced through extended lees contact.

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.