Giant Steps Equate Chardonnay 2021

Accolades:
96/100 – Halliday Wine Companion

“From Steve Flamsteed’s final vintage as chief winemaker and his two favourite blocks on the Sexton vineyard. Two puncheons, 50% mlf and 12 months’ maturation in two seasoned French puncheons. With its bouquet of ripe stone fruits, mandarin, grilled cashews, fennel seed and a little gun flint, this gently broad shouldered and creamily textured wine finishes pithy and long. A hedonistic chardonnay to drink now and over the next three to four years.” – Halliday Wine Companion

Vintage Note: 2021 was a terrific vintage for vineyard quality, we knew this was the year to launch this new project. We had a wet spring followed by a mild summer and some well timed rain in January, leading to healthy canopies. The overall temperature during the growing season was cooler than average which led to a long slow ripening period, thick grape skins, higher white tannin development, natural acidity retention and concentrated natural flavours as the grapes could hang out for longer. These aspects of the wine create high anti-oxidant properties and a higher natural acidity, hence a longer ageing potential for this wine.

Winemaking Notes: 100% handpicked from our two blocks which are consistently strong year after year: Block 2 planted to 96 and Block 12 planted to Mendoza. The grapes are handpicked, meticulously sorted in the vineyard, and the fruit is then refrigerated overnight to cool before whole bunch pressing. The juice is transferred to barrel by gravity with no settling, allowing all the solids to go to ferment. The barrel selection is all one year seasoned 500L French puncheons on full solids, all second fill 2020 oak; Taransaud and Mercurey. After primary fermentation, the wine was bâtonnaged to taste each month and let the barrels go through natural malolactic fermentation. Maturation for 11 months in barrel, 1 month on lees in tank and 2 years in bottle.

Alcohol: 13.0%

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia