Eastern Peake Two Mile Hill Chardonnay 2021

With a penchant for chardonnay, Karel Schaefer initiated a discussion in 2015 about cultivating some vines to quench his passion. By 2017, the Schaefer family had planted their maiden vines at Two Mile Hill, a 4-acre expanse characterized by three distinct soil variations and grape varieties. The Chardonnay thrives in a nutrient-dense red volcanic terrain, benefiting from the south-west orientation of the slope and the i10V5 clone. This marks the debut vintage from Two Mile Hill, hinting at promising barrels for 2022 and a hopeful harvest in 2023. Strategically placed, it's a stone's throw away, 5km, from Eastern Peake. Our vineyard is still visible from there, and intriguingly, their cycles for flowering and harvesting precede ours by a week or two.

While Karel shoulders some farming responsibilities, our team, with its expertise, collaboratively handles the rest. On 24/03/2021, the harvest was undertaken, and the grapes were whole bunch pressed. The fermentation occurred spontaneously within 300L hogsheads and 228L barriques. During its élevage, the wine remains undisturbed, settled on full lees without any intervention. Invariably, the wine undergoes a full malolactic fermentation autonomously, with a minor addition of sulphur afterwards. Come 3/4/2022, it was transferred to a stainless tank without the need for fining or filtering. Finally, before being bottled on 11/10/2022, a modest quantity of sulphur was added post-malolactic fermentation and just before bottling.