Soumah Chardonnay d’Soumah 2023 (Yarra Valley)

A very wet winter and spring created increased work in the vineyard to ensure vines were clean and healthy and the incredibly wet October affected the fruit set reducing crop load. This increased rainfall also made nights warmer and days relatively cooler extending the ripening period. Summer dried out like usual with little rain in January and February allowing the fruit to ripen leading to a harvest that was 2-weeks later than recent experiences. Fruit retained natural acidity well, while flavours were developed at less ripeness. Wines are intense but with a lighter weight than normal.

Soumah pick Chardonnay as early as they can to ensure we retain a fresh line of citrus fruit and crisp natural acidity on the palate. Soumah develop structure in the wine by predominantly barrel fermenting the juice and allowing it to mature gracefully for eight months before bottling a wine with balanced weight and silky texture.