2024 Sandalford Estate Reserve Chardonnay
The citrus fruits and toasty oak flavours are beautifully integrated adding layers of complexity to the wine. The mid pallet texture is creamy and is supported with bright acidity leading to a wonderful length of flavour on the finish. Cellaring for up to 10 years will provide greater complexity and richness for those who like a bottle aged style.
Winemaker comments
Winemaker Notes
Crafted from old vine Gingin clone Chardonnay grown on the Estate vineyard in Wilyabrup, this wine displays all the hallmarks of great Margaret River Chardonnay – rich, bright, intense fruit flavours supported by a lovely natural acid balance. Handpicked fruit was transported to the winery for whole bunch pressing to tank, then immediately transferred to French oak barriques (35% new) for ferment. Using a combination of native yeasts and a selected Burgundian isolate has yielded a wine of complexity that speaks of place. The wine remained in barrel on ferment lees for 9 months prior to assemblage, stabilisation, filtration and bottling.
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
Pink grapefruit, cut lime, and nectarine fruit characters with nougat and roasted cashew nut flavours abound. Subtle toasted vanillin oak and the smoky wood spice characteristics derived from the barrel fermentation support the bright fruit flavours.
Palate
Tasting Note
The citrus fruits and toasty oak flavours are beautifully integrated adding layers of complexity to the wine. The mid pallet texture is creamy and is supported with bright acidity leading to a wonderful length of flavour on the finish. 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.
