D'arenberg Olive Grove Chardonnay 2010
'The name is conjured not from a specific grove of olive trees, but rather the olive trees that abound throughout McLaren Vale particularly along old creek beds and watercourses. Very much a Chardonnay made by a red winemaker, rich and opulent, but which has had considerable success in wine competitions, notably overseas.' - James Halliday
The Olive Grove Chardonnay goes through the gentle d’Arenberg process of being crushed by our rubber–toothed Demoisy crusher, before fermentation in various ways. Some of the Chardonnay will be whole bunch pressed straight off skins before going into barrel to finish fermentation there. Traditionally the Olive Grove is a blend of 1/3 each of Chardonnay grapes fermented and matured in stainless steel, 1/3 starts fermentation in stainless steel and then goes into French and American oak to continue fermentation for about 4 weeks, and the final component completes fermentation and maturation for about 5 months in new and older French and American oak. - Chester Osborn
