1995 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay

Notes sourced from Southcorp Wines.

This wine is 100 per cent Chardonnay. The quantity made was 1180 dozen or 2360 cases each of six bottles. Each bottle is individually numbered. Districts of origin are Adelaide Hills (55 per cent) and McLaren Vale (45 per cent). The McLaren Vale component comes from a single vineyard at Willunga, in the area where McLaren Vale ends and the Adelaide Hills begins. The Adelaide Hills component was sourced from widely separated areas -- Kuitpo (29 per cent), Partalunga (12 per cent), Piccadilly (9 per cent) and Gumeracha (5 per cent).

The 1995 vintage in these locations was warm and disease-free, yielding ripe fruit with good natural acidity. Grapes were hand-picked and pressed as whole bunches, barrel-fermented, then matured for10 months in 225 litre French oak barriques (60 per cent new, 40 per cent one year old). Barrels were selected for fine grain rather than place of origin.

The wine has been nurtured from picking to bottling and at every step along the way. Only the very best barrels, those showing perfect integration of fruit and oak, were selected for the final blend, and the wine was bottled unfiltered to retain natural character and maximise complexity of flavour .

Constant observation was an important factor, with some (but not all) barrels stirred to enable the maturing wine to pick up flavours from yeast residues and other solids left behind after fermentation. The wine was bottled unfiltered. These techniques, along with 100 per cent malo-lactic fermentation,give the wine complexity of flavour without sacrificing the tight structure required to support bottle aging. Malo-lactic fermentation converts relatively harsh malic acid (as found in green apples) to thesofter lactic (milk) acid.

Tasting Notes: Light to medium straw colour with brilliant green hues. Complex, integrated bouquet offering rich rockmelon and ripe fig fruit characters married with fine, nutty French oak and an attractive butterscotch character derived from barrel fermentation. On the palate there are layers of powerful fruit characters -- quince, fig and rockmelon extend across a voluptuously rich palate complexed by spicy, cinnamon-like oak. A vibrant backbone of acidity ensures the wine's potential for bottle development and helps to balance the rich, fruit- derived flavours. A Chardonnay destined for greatness with a fruity aftertaste that lingers on and on. . It is a Chardonnay of exceptional quality and we would like to think it has the potential to develop and improve with bottle age for at least five and possibly 10 years in cool cellaring conditions (14 degrees C or less). 13.1% alcohol volume.