La Ferme de Sato Chenin Blanc Schisteux 2022

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Case of 6+ bottles: only $75.00/bottle!
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Accolades:
95/100 – James Suckling
94+/100 – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
93/100 – Ken Gargett (2021 vintage)

“The dried-apricot and pineapple character is impressive with hints of wood underneath. It’s medium- to full-bodied with ripe fruit, firm texture and a flavorful finish. Delicious chenin. Drink now.” – James Suckling

“The 2022 Schisteux comprises Chenin Blanc grown on the top block at the estate. The fruit is foot stomped and basket pressed, and the juice is cool-settled in tank prior to barrel for fermentation, which utilizes indigenous yeasts. The fermentation can take some time to complete (the 2024 Chardonnay is still fermenting as I write this), then the wine is matured for 15 or 16 months of élevage. Rarely is bâtonnage engaged in; instead, the wine is left to be on its own until bottling, where a small amount of sulfites is added. Aromatically, the wine leads with beeswax and flowers, green apples and a hint of caper brine. The wine shows pressed linen and gentle textural finesse that weaves its way through the fruit and the finish. The wine is saline and mineral yet intense and focused, with layers of tissue-paper phenolics settled upon beds of wax and linen. Both the grape and the site are captured here. This has always been the last variety to be picked at the vineyard—”always, absolutely last,” says winemaker Yoshiako Sato.” – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Winemaking Notes: Sato Pisa Vineyard. Soil: Alluvial, sandy or silt loam with schist & quartz gravel. Viticulture: No pesticides, herbicides, systemic fungicides or inorganic fertilisers used. Harvest: Hand picked, 20 & 26 April 2022. 48 hl/ha. Vinification: Pressed with basket press overnight. Natural yeast fermentation in oak barrels No additives except for 20 mg/L sulphites before bottling. Maturation: 15 months in French oak barrels. 24% new oak. Bottled: 28 August 2023 without fining or filtration. 2717 bottles produced

Alcohol: 14.0%

Varietal: Chenin Blanc

Region: Mount Pisa, Central Otago, New Zealand