Colour: 
Medium straw with attractive green tints 

Bouquet: Elegant peach-blossom nose with a vanilla and nut influence from barrel fermentation in French oak.

Palate: A restrained style showing nectarine flavours. The wine is medium bodied of excellent length with balanced, tight yet soft acidity.

Food Suggestions: 
An excellent companion for poultry, seafood or pasta.

Cellaring Potential: The wine should drink well over the next 4-6 years. Expect the colour to show more golden tints in four or so years and the nose and palate to develop attractive toast flavours.
 
Winemaking Notes: This wine is sourced the southern side of the McLaren Vale township from our ‘Hut Lyre Trellis’ vineyard which is noted for the elegant fruit it produces. The vines were hand pruned and the fruit was handpicked. It has been made with the free run juice which, after cold settling, was allowed to complete its fermentation in French oak hogsheads from the Vosges and Troncais regions of France then kept on lees for 6 months with periodic lees stirring. Partial malo-lactic fermentation was allowed to occur to provide creaminess to the palate. The wine was assembled, blended and received a light skim milk fining before stabilising and bottling in September 2009.

Background Information:
‘Almond Grove’ has obtained its name from the Almonds which were widely grown in McLaren Vale on land which now bears our vineyards. Richard Hamilton is noted as the first to have planted Chardonnay in McLaren Vale (in 1972). 

Oak:
100%
25%  New French 
75% 1-2 YO French