Vavasour Papa Awatere Valley Chardonnay 2022

Vavasour Papa Awatere Valley Chardonnay 2022Named for the compacted blue grey mudstone that holds tight to the roots of our mature vines, Papa Chardonnay is complex and restrained. Bright, pure white peach and citrus blossom up front, evolving to toasted brioche and a saline minerality. The palate has delicious flowing notes of ripe nectarine, crisp orchard fruits, and a subtle hint of savoury oak. A bold Chardonnay with an elegant acid line and a pure minerality finish. For all its raw beauty,

Named for the compacted blue-grey mudstone that holds tight to the roots of our mature vines, Papa Chardonnay is complex and restrained. Bright, pure white peach and citrus blossom up front, evolving to toasted brioche and a saline minerality. The palate has delicious flowing notes of ripe nectarine, crisp orchard fruits, and a subtle hint of savoury oak. A bold Chardonnay with an elegant acid line and a
pure minerality finish.

For all its raw beauty, the Awatere Valley is home to unforgiving soils, cool winds and some of the driest conditions in the country. But we have been here from the start. We know intimately how these very elements conspire to produce remarkable wines, like our Papa Chardonnay. Our Home Block Vineyard is an old river terrace. Original vines from 1986 are planted east to west resulting in staggered ripening and a variety of character from within the vineyard.

By many accounts the 2022 Vintage was a roller-coaster ride. Pleasant spells of warm and dry weather coupled with unseasonable rain kept both our viticulturist and winemaker on their toes. A great spell of weather in the middle of summer drove the ripening forward and with clever canopy management and strategic picking decisions, our grapes were harvested in a clean manner. We harvested our grapes for Papa in two stages due to different ripening times within the vineyard block. This character leads to array of flavours, reflected in the wine.

Fruit was hand harvested at full maturity and gently whole bunched pressed to stainless steel. Following a short settling period the juice was racked to barrels. A pied de cuve vineyard starter culture was used to initiate fermentation and amplify the wines provenance. Barrels were stirred weekly through malolactic conversion to increase texture and structure. Following malolactic, the wine sat sur lie in barrel for 10 months to enhance weight and complexity. The wine was blended the following summer and prepped for bottling in mid-March 2024.