Wines
2022 RIKARD Black Label Chardonnay
Our Black Label Chardonnay is only made in exceptional vintages, utilising the best fruit of the vintage to create an elegant wine that is fine-boned, subtle and restrained. It is made to be delicate and pretty, held by a persistent spine of acid in its youth. Whilst approachable young, it should slowly unravel with time to reveal even greater depth and complexity.
The ultra cool season of 2022 emphasised further the dichotomy of ripeness and style between fruit from varying elevations across the Orange wine region. Higher vineyards were harvested with incredible natural acidity and drive, ensuring wines that will naturally age and provide them with an intense citrus core. Lower elevations enabled the fruit to achieve greater physiological ripeness comparatively, which really helped fill out the mid-palate of the wines and add more approachability to them in their youth. A wealth of blending options therefore was provided to us.
1169 in stock
Description
The 2022 Black Label Chardonnay is made up from three different vineyards ranging from 860-990m ASL. Only the free run portion of the press was utilised for this wine and the vast majority came from the first of multiple picks from each vineyard. There is 3 different clones of Chardonnay in the blend and the oak used for structure is all fine grained French oak and light to medium in toast.
COLOUR – Straw coloured
NOSE – Lemon meringue and French pastry. Hazelnut and nougat notes with some flinty reduction and toast. A savoury nose with lovely intensity.
PALATE –White peach and melon with yellow citrus. The palate has great intensity and persistence, a myriad of fruit and savoury notes wrapped around a lively acid core. There’s structure and grip there, some phenolics and barrel-char too. Long and ever evolving.
Winemaking notes:
- Fruit from 3 different sites ranging from 860-990m above sea level
- 3 separate picks from 3 different vineyard sites between 25th March and 12th April 2022
- Handpicked into 10kg baskets
- Chilled overnight, lightly pressed with no SO2, free run & pressings separated
- Racked to barrels on full solids, approximately 37% new oak
- Wild yeast ferment in 225L barriques with regular battonage for the first 3 months
- Full natural malolactic fermentation, SO2 added thereafter
- Elevage in barrel for 11 months with regular topping, occasional lees-stirring during this time
- Racked & blended September 2023 into stainless steel tank on fine lees.
- Naturally settled and further matured for 6 months in tank.
- Racked and lightly filtered before bottling Nov 23
