Eden Valley Chardonnay

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

Two dry winters and warm, windy weather during spring, coupled with warm to hot conditions throughout December and into January kept berries small and yields low. Welcome rainfall came at the end of January refreshing the vineyard and from then on the season changed to milder temperatures - perfect for retaining high levels of natural acidity and flavour intensity.

Around 50% of the blend was fermented and matured in new (10% of the final blend) 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. Capitalising on our experience and success with growing the original Burgundian clones in our family vineyards, plantings of these special clones in selected growers’ vineyards have now come of age for this 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.

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.