Montes Alpha Chardonnay 2023

A medium gold in colour. Standout ripe tropical fruit notes of pineapple and papaya balanced with toasted notes of vanilla and dried fruit from the 12 months in French oak. The palate has enjoyable acidity with a persistent fruity finish.

The grapes were harvested by hand. Harvest was carried out early in the morning to maintain the lowest possible temperature in the grapes until their arrival at the winery. Upon arrival, the grapes were sorted by hand and underwent a combination of whole bunch pressing, pressing of destemmed grapes and cold maceration for several hours, allowing the team to play with the aromatic extraction from the skins and level of structure. Fermentation took place at controlled temperatures of between 13°C and 14°C, for around 25 days. 30% of the wine was fermented in new oak barrels and remained there for 12 months before blended and prepared for bottling. Finally, the wine was filtered before being bottled.

The 2023 vintage began with a cooler spring and greater soil moisture than previous years. January and February were warm but with a notable dip in night time temperatures, which created favourable conditions for the grapes to retain their full aromatic potential. In March the temperatures dropped again and the typical morning frosts arrived later than usual and allowed for slower ripening retaining good acidity and freshness in the fruit.