Hoddles Creek 1er Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2020

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Hoddles Creek 1er Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2020

$49.99 AUD $52.99 AUD You save: 5% ( $3.00 AUD )

1er is the exciting new range just released by Hoddles Creek. Its stands for Premier, and is their reserve range of wines. So take the quality of the Hoddles Creek Chardonnay, and their Pint Noir, and ramp them up. Add intensity, a touch of better oak, and estate fruit from the 'best' plots of the vineyard, and you have the Hoddles Creek 1er series. All three 1er wines are highly recommended, and outstanding value for money, and like the rest of the Hoddles range, provide some of the best value for money buying in Australia!

A better understanding of our vineyards has led us to believe that certain blocks excel year after year. These blocks have always been treated separately to enable us to fine tune viticulture and winemaking in the thought of releasing some single block wines in the future. Well that time has come. Our Top Paddock vineyard was originally planted to 100 per cent Pinot Noir. In 2003, I decided to graft one block over to the Bernard clones of Chardonnay (95, 96, 277). I selected the best clones and the most balanced vines for cuttings. The block I selected was Easterly facing on the crest of the hill. I was always fascinated how Chardonnay on this block would go. The vineyard is 50 metres higher in altitude than the existing Chardonnay block.

Chardonnay from the Top Paddock has always had a different growth structure than our normal Chardonnay blocks. Positioned on top of the hill has meant the vines have had to work harder as the soils are poorer. Crop levels are never an issue with this block, with natural crop levels at one tone per acre. Minimal shoot thinning and positioning occurs in Spring. After this, we let the vines sort itself out.

In the winery, we treat this wine as we would normally treat all our Chardonnay.. The Chardonnay is picked in the early morning, and refrigerated down to 2⁰C for 12 hours. Then it is gentle destemmed, not crushed and pressed into tank. The juice is left to settle clear for 7 days with no enzyme or acid addition. The wine is then fermented till dryness using cultered and natural yeasts. The wine remains in cask for 12 months with occasional battonage. The wine is not filtered, not fined, or stabilized before bottling.

The vintage 2020 was cool, which was a welcome relief to the 2019 vintage. In 2019, we decided not to make a 1ER Chardonnay as we felt the vineyard suffered and as a result the wine did not have its usual clarity. However, 2020 was opposite with the resulting wine having great structure and line. This vintage reminds me of 2012 and 2015 which are still looking great and many years ahead of it.

Chardonnay yields were 65% down on the average. That’s some hit.

Again it’s the extra burst of flavour through the finish; it sets it apart. This has taken on a fair amount of oak and it shows but both the quality of the fruit and its character mean that it’s no concern at all. This really does have the quartz meter jumping. Fleshy white peach and citrus with flashes of grapefruit and cedar. The way it kicks up a gear on the finish is quite something. It’s a beautiful chardonnay, hands down.

Rated : 95 Points Winefront.com.au

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Hoddles Creek 1er Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2020

How We Give Back

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