Full Moon Vineyard – Gladysdale – Upper Yarra – Yarra Valley

We work with Simon Harte at the Full Moon Vineyard in the Upper Yarra Valley.

19 year old vines are grown on chocolate coloured volcanic soils on a gentle west facing slope in Gladysdale. This immaculate vineyard is tendered to like a garden.

It’s a marginal subregion for grape growing but with careful vineyard management these vines have produced pristine and powerful fruit.

Vintage

A wet and cold spring of 2019 led to a long and slow flowering period. The resulting poor fruit set meant our yield was approximately 50% of the average. However, our soils were charged with water and our vines incredibly healthy for the months ahead.

 A complete turnaround occurred in December with a warm and windy month drying out soils and forests. The vines were absolutely flying along.

 We then had one of the coolest and wettest January to March periods on record. This is the crux of the vintage.

Very slow, even ripening allowed the grapes to retain subtle, fresh flavours and remarkable acids. The resulting wines are pure, pretty and complex and will age incredibly well.

Winemaking Stats

Picking Date – 18 Mar 2020      Variety - 100% Chardonnay            Clone – 76/96

pH - 3.23                                     TA – 7.3 g/L                                     Baume – 11.7

The least complicated wine we make.

Whole bunches are pressed cold after a night in the cool room.

Juice is transferred with full solids to 1 old 500L puncheon and 1 second use puncheon to complete wild fermentation up to 24 deg C.

Low sulphur maturation with no stirring. Maybe a bit of malolactic ferment.

Racked without fining or filtration to bottle after 9 months in oak.

Bottling Date – 1st Dec 2020

pH - 3.32         TA – 6.8 g/L    Alc - 12.0%     RS < 2 g/L