Variety: | French-American hybrid with good resistance to fungal disease (rot), retaining naturally high acidity in warm/hot climates. |
Region: | Hunter Valley, a region susceptible to high humidity during the growing/harvest season, thus the popularity of Chambourcin with its resistance to rot. |
Typical Hunter Valley Style : | Typically dominated by ripe (often near-confected) fruit flavours, with smooth palates that are driven acidity but otherwise lacking (phenolic) texture; often heavily (and sweetly) oaked. |
Aim: | To make a Chambourcin wine that possessed texture, with significant astringency and a more savoury oriented flavour profile. |
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Crush : | Some hours after harvesting, the fruit was destemmed and gently crushed with progressive SO2 additions totalling 32 mg/l. |
Stems : | Partially lignified, with reduced bitterness and acidity, and a slightly spicy flavour. Whole bunches (9%, with stems attached) were added to the fermenters from select bunches to add phenolic texture to the wine. |
Must Analyticals : | Clear must measured: SG of 1.110 Brix ~26 Baumé ~14 pH 3.28 TA 8.9 g/l |
Inoculation: | With multiple cultured yeast strains on the day after crush. |
Fermentation Vessels: | Approximately 1.5:1 fill height to diameter ratio (2.1 m2 exposed surface area per m3 must). |
Fermentation Progress: | Vigorous within 24 hours of inoculation. |
Cap Management: | Manually punched down an average of two to three times daily for nine days following inoculation. |
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Inoculation: | The day after crush. | |||||||||||||||||
Progress: | General: | Slow, due to low ambient temperatures.
| | Two months after pressing: | pH was approximately 3.15 and the TA 8.3 g/l | Three months after pressing: | Began to develop some reductive aromatic characters (e.g., cracked pepper). | Three to seven months after pressing: | Temperatures were too low for MLF to proceed. The wine remained unsulphured over the winter and was regularly monitored for reductive flavours and MLF activity. It was not racked, the dissolved CO2 from partial MLF and the fine lees providing adequate oxidative protection, and the risk of microbial spoilage reduced due to low temperatures and appropriate hygeine | Seven months after pressing: | MLF activity revived in the spring. The wine colour was just-transparent, dark vibrant purple. The nose showed a slightly funky, earthy nose with ripe plummy fruit and an attractive stemmy-vegetal character. The palate was juicy and medium bodied, possessing velvety textured tannins throughout the front and mid-palate. The acidity was slightly too high at a TA of 7.6 g/l (pH 3.23). | Ten months after pressing: | MLF complete. SO2 was added at a dosage of 35 mg/l. This was to provide at least 0.6 mg/l molecular SO2 assuming 50% binding. | |
Cold Stabilisation: | At approximately 4°C (39°F) for one week to further reduce the acidity. |
Bottling: | Immediately following cold stabilisation. |
TBA |