Thursday 4 December 2008

TN : Arboleda Chardonnay 2007, Eduardo Chadwick, Casablanca Valley, Chile


The total acidity of this wine is 6.28 grammes per litre (tartaric acid), the pH is 3.43, and the residual sugar is 3.02 grammes per litre.

The vineyards are located 20 miles from the Pacific Coast in the Casablanca Valley. The vineyard soils are composed of clay and sandy loam. The vineyard was planted in 1997 using 96, 458, and Mendoza clones of Chardonnay. The vineyard is drip irrigated and canopy management is done using Vertical Shoot Positioning. The grapes were picked during the first week of April 2007.

The temperature during the 2006-2007 season were relatively cold. The final heat summation showed that there were 1401 degree days which was 60 degree days lower than the average of the past 6 years. Bud break came 10 days early which fortunately did not expose the vines to frosts. The months of october and november were warmer than in a normal year. Although conditions were warmer early in the season, the subsequent ripening period was cold, and the average high temperatures for the final months (December through March) were lower than the historic averages.

The grapes were hand-picked very early in the morning and then brought to the winery in 12kg cases. All of the fruit was whole-cluster pressed gently and all juice was fermented in French oak burgundy type of barrels (30% new oak) between 14 and 24 degrees . Some of the lots were inoculated with selected yeasts, although a large proportion (45%) was fermented with wild yeasts that are naturally present on the grape skins. After ten months of ageing “sur-lie” to enhance complexity, the wine was fined and bottled on the January 28th 2008.



Colour : Lemon

Aroma : Toast, nuts, butter, pineapple, green apple

Taste : Toast, butter, pineapple, honey, grapefruit

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 109 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Arboleda

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