This region has a Mediterranean climate with wet winters, dry summers and plenty of sunshine. The proximity to the St. Vincent Gulf, coincidentally named after the patron saint of winemakers, benefits fruit quality with warmer spring and autumn conditions and cooler summers. McLaren Vale is renowned as a premium wine region of great beauty that consistently produces high quality, richly flavoured wines.

Vintage started with Chardonnay on the 8th of February and finished with the last of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache on the 26th of March. There was a week or so between finishing the Shiraz and starting on the Cabernet Sauvignon. The only rain to speak of conveniently fell over two days just after the Shiraz was picked and assisted the steady ripening and development of flavours and tannins in the Cabernet. The vintage was generally an easy one in the winery with time available to lavish attention on every batch. Ferments were clean and finished dry with wines quickly completing malolactic fermentation. Grenache yields were very low due to hot weather at flowering. Chardonnay crops were also down, whilst yields of the other varieties were around average. The unusual heat in November also had the positive effect of toughening the vines for the vintage to come. Across the board the wines of the 2010 vintage are full-bodied with opulent and luscious varietal flavours. A vintage to celebrate and sure to be a crowd pleaser.

The Chardonnay fruit is harvested in the cool of the night and the free run juice quickly separated from the skins. The juice is naturally cold settled (using no enzyme) and racked to ferment. 50% of the wine completes a steady fermentation at 12 - 18° C (54 - 65° F) in stainless steel. The balance is fermented in new, fine grained French oak hogsheads and is lees stirred weekly during barrel maturation. This regime, along with the addition of a portion of the juice that is fermented in barrel with indigenous yeast, adds complexity and a creamy texture to the palate.

Light straw in colour, with a hint of green. Only the best McLaren Vale free run Chardonnay is used to create this delicate and well balanced wine. Primary aromas of grapefruit, peach stone and pear are highlighted with notes of minerality and roasted nuts. Flavours of lemon, white peach and honeydew melon fill the mid-palate and linger on the long finish of this textured and full-bodied white wine. With partial barrel fermentation, the use of multiple strains of yeast and 6 months on lees in new French oak, a creamy, cashew like complexity enhances the stone fruit and citrus flavours.