2024 Sandalford Cellar Reserve Chardonnay
The stone fruit and subtle toasty oak flavours are beautifully held together with soft mineral like acidity that helps define the palate. The wine finishes dry and savoury with wonderful length of flavour. Cellaring for up to 10 years will provide greater complexity and richness for those who like a bottle aged style.
Winemaker comments
Winemaker Notes
Pemberton is a cool climate wine growing region recognised for producing premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This wine was crafted from handpicked fruit sourced off a single site vineyard in Pemberton. The fruit was refrigerated and transported to the winery for whole bunch pressing, then immediately transferred to barrel for fermentation with native yeasts. 50% new oak usage, with the balance made up of one- and two-year-old barrels, has yielded a wine of great style and definition. Around 25% of the wine underwent a malolactic fermentation to add complexity and richness. The wine remained in barrel on ferment lees for 9 months prior to assemblage, stabilisation, filtration and bottling. It is a wine that drinks well in its youth, but can be comfortably cellared for up to 10 years.
Meet the maker
By the time I turned 18, I had become fascinated with wine. I was keen to learn as much about wine as I could and I received some great advice: to work in the industry before committing to any tertiary study....
Continue Reading > I was lucky enough to get my start at the cellars at Houghton Wines, here in the Swan Valley. I loved it, and it was the beginning of a career which was to eventually see me spend 20 years with Houghton’s. But first, I wanted to discover what traditional winemaking was like in the northern hemisphere. I took myself off to Burgundy, France, where I worked several vintages learning as much as I could about the craft of winemaking from some the best in the business. Returning to Australia I continued my career, picking up a few awards in the process of learning more and more about winemaking and achieving Bachelor of Applied Science and Oenology at Charles Sturt University, NSW. I was awarded the inaugural Gourmet Traveler Young Winemaker of the Year 2001, James Halliday’s Winemaker of the year in 2009, Winemaker of the Year in Ray Jordan's 2017 Annual West Australian Wine Guide, and I’ve judged extensively at capital city and regional wine shows. Australia makes some amazing world class wines! I’ve been fortunate to be Senior Winemaker at Sandalford Wines since March 2021 and I’m delighted every day by our estates’ old vines, the passion of the viticulture team here, and the outcomes we are able to achieve each vintage.
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Continue Reading > I was lucky enough to get my start at the cellars at Houghton Wines, here in the Swan Valley. I loved it, and it was the beginning of a career which was to eventually see me spend 20 years with Houghton’s. But first, I wanted to discover what traditional winemaking was like in the northern hemisphere. I took myself off to Burgundy, France, where I worked several vintages learning as much as I could about the craft of winemaking from some the best in the business. Returning to Australia I continued my career, picking up a few awards in the process of learning more and more about winemaking and achieving Bachelor of Applied Science and Oenology at Charles Sturt University, NSW. I was awarded the inaugural Gourmet Traveler Young Winemaker of the Year 2001, James Halliday’s Winemaker of the year in 2009, Winemaker of the Year in Ray Jordan's 2017 Annual West Australian Wine Guide, and I’ve judged extensively at capital city and regional wine shows. Australia makes some amazing world class wines! I’ve been fortunate to be Senior Winemaker at Sandalford Wines since March 2021 and I’m delighted every day by our estates’ old vines, the passion of the viticulture team here, and the outcomes we are able to achieve each vintage.
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Tasting notes
Varietals
Varietal
Chardonnay
Colour
Other Notes
Straw gold.
Nose
Production
A fine and delicate style displaying a subtle combination of nectarine, peach and poached pear fruit characters, along with brioche, nougat and roasted cashew nut. Subtle toasted vanillin oak and the smoky wood spice characteristics derived from barrel fermentation support the bright fruit flavours.
Palate
Tasting Note
The stone fruit and subtle toasty oak flavours are beautifully held together with soft mineral like acidity that helps define the palate. The wine finishes dry and savoury with wonderful length of flavour. Cellaring for up to 10 years will provide greater complexity and richness for those who like a bottle aged style.
Vintage Conditions
Vineyard Notes
The spring season preceding the 2024 vintage was drier than usual with rainfall down 23% below average and the warmest spring temperatures on record for Western Australia. The weather pattern remained hot and dry leading into summer with temperatures well above average. Flowering, version, and ripening all occurred very early which led to vintage commencing a month earlier than normal. Sandalford began picking their white fruit in the first week of January – the earliest start on record.
