2023 Ochota Barrels Slint Chardonnay Adelaide Hills, Australia

This wine has always had a foot in Chablis, an arm in the Jura and a toe in the Adelaide Hills. Taras had fashioned the first vintage of this wine in 2011 and continued to see the style evolve. Always incorporating a bit of battonage, parts of ML, a touch of new wood, peacefully oxidized in some respects and yet tightly reductive in others. 2020 was the cause of panic and sorrow in the Hills for many reasons and 2021 brought about a new chapter at Ochota Barrels. It was also the new beginning of a vineyard site as the vineyard shifted from Lenswood to Piccadilly, bringing with it the energetic drive that Piccadilly is known for. The vineyard is quite high in altitude at nearly 2,000 feet and planted at a very steep incline with incredible drainage to the quartz and ironstone riddled soils. This was again the site in 2022 and 2023.

The fruit was hand-harvested and whole-bunch basket pressed with full solids directly to a mix of seasoned and virgin Burgundian barrels. Fermentation occurred naturally without any additions and with weekly battonage across four months. The barrels were gravity racked to tank after a total of six months of aging and then were filtered to retain natural malic acid. The wine was bottled with just a small sulfur addition; no fining.