SINGLE VINEYARD ‘THE ELEVEN’ CHARDONNAY 2017 “Pale straw with green hues, the 2017 Montalto ‘The Eleven’ Chardonnay offers lemon and lime sherbet, tangerine and grapefruit combined with floral and mineral notes by way of slate and flint. White florals fuse with crème brulee and brioche aromas. There is subtle oak influence by way of roasted hazelnuts with hints of struck match. Purity and tension are the hallmark qualities of the 2017 ‘The Eleven’ Chardonnay. The palate has a tight, fresh citrus focus balanced with white-flesh stone fruits and lovely slate and flint nuances. There is remarkable drive here and a long and focused palate. Creamy mouthfeel from both oak handling and lees influence adds richness and texture.” Simon Black, Winemaker
CELLARING POTENTIAL:
History tells us that the Montalto ‘The Eleven’ Chardonnay has a strong pedigree for cellaring. This vintage is no exception and with correct cellaring will age beautifully for 10+ years. The 2017 vintage was a genuinely great year on the Mornington Peninsula. Our two Chardonnay releases show great detail and will be long living wines that will reward careful cellaring.
VINTAGE:
1 TROPHY 3 GOLD
Chardonnay Provenance Trophy 2018 MPVA Wine Show Gold Medal 2018 MPVA Wine Show Gold Medal 2018 Royal Melbourne Wine Show Gold Medal 2018 Winewise Small Vigneron Awards Alcohol: 13.0%, TA: 6.53g/L pH: 3.25pH, RS g/l: <1 g/L Harvest Date: 15/03/17
The season began ideally with mild spring conditions, with good, and even shoot growth leading into the key period of November flowering. November was cooler than usual and this led to significant ‘hen and chicken’ and overall smaller bunch and berry size. Over our critical ripening period, late January through to the end of February, we were blessed with mild temperatures and cooling sea breezes. These cool and dry conditions meant a protracted ripening, with an ideal result of an extended harvest period between the warmest and the coolest sites across the Peninsula. Extended harvests between our different subregions show the unique characters of these sites and further reinforces our single vineyard goals – to produce wines that are a true reflection of the expression of each site. This combination of small crops and a long, slow ripening has resulted in wines with finesse and power.
VINEYARD:
Harvested from eleven rows of P58 Chardonnay planted in 1986 on our north-facing slope at our home vineyard site in Red Hill South, ‘The Eleven’ Chardonnay is by any measure a stand-out wine. The northerly aspect offers protection from the cool southerlies and plenty of sunshine during ripening. This is a special site where old, dry-grown chardonnay vines deliver wonderful depth of flavour.
WINEMAKING:
The grapes are typically harvested between 11.5 and 12.0 Baumé and at this sugar level consistently deliver a collage of citrus flavours combined with mineral and floral notes and bright acidity. The fruit was whole bunch pressed with minimal settling and transferred directly to French oak barriques (27% new). There is no sulphur addition prior to blending. Following wild fermentation and natural malolactic fermentation, the wine is left to mature on lees which are stirred when appropriate following appraisal. Yeast lees collected from previous vintages are added back to some barrels to enhance flavour and texture. The wine is aged for 11 months in oak prior to blending, filtration and bottling.
Bottled: 12/02/18
hello@montalto.com.au 33 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, VIC 3937 03 5989 8412
@montaltovineyard @montaltovineyard www.montalto.com.au
OUR WINEMAKER, SIMON BLACK:
Having just completed his 10th vintage as Montalto winemaker, Simon Black has a tremendous grounding and recognition for the vineyards that provide the life-blood to the Montalto winery, together with a meticulous understanding of how to vinify and capture the potential of each site. Following his graduation in Oenology from Charles Sturt University in 1996, Black travelled extensively, nationally and internationally, honing his craft. It was inevitable that his love of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir would eventually see him settle on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. During his time with Montalto, Black has amassed 178 Gold medals together with 54 Trophies in regional, national and international wine shows, together with significant critical acclaim. He is a Len Evans Tutorial graduate and was also a Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year finalist in 2015. The ongoing search for wine-perfection is what drives Black:
“I may get 40 vintages to apply my craft. If the wine Gods are friendly and the planets align, one in ten of these might produce grapes of exceptional quality, leaving only 4 opportunities in my career to make truly great wine. The quest feeds the fascination.”
ABOUT US:
Montalto is an award-winning winery, AGFG chef's hatted restaurant, casual Piazza and Sculpture Trail, located at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula. Our Single Vineyard wines are made with the intent of exploring and highlighting the unique terroir and sub-regionality of our Mornington Peninsula vineyards. Through the ability to source fruit from sub regions across the Mornington Peninsula, we have been able to select single vineyard or block fruit that best displays those sub regional qualities. Micro climate, altitude, wind, soil, clone selection all play part in making these wines of true “terroir”.
hello@montalto.com.au 33 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, VIC 3937 03 5989 8412
@montaltovineyard @montaltovineyard www.montalto.com.au