2016 Elephant Hill Salomé Chardonnay

The flagship Chardonnay of Elephant Hill The Salomé Chardonnay is named after a famous ancestor of the Weiss family. Maria Salomé Ebner from Eschenbach. From 1717 she was married to Carl Wilhelm Ebner, who was castellan of the city of Gostenhof near Nuremberg. The grapes for this top Chardonnay come mainly from the Te Awanga vineyard and a small part from the so-called block ‘Ginkgo’ of the Bridge Pa Triangle vineyard. From a climatic point of view, 2016 was a cooler vintage and so the harvest for the Salomé Chardonnay did not begin until the end of March. This allowed the grapes a long and gentle ripening period. The wine was fermented in barrels and aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, one third in new barrels. During the ageing, the fine yeast was often stirred up to give the wine more complexity. 20 percent of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, i.e. biological acid degradation.   And this is how the Salomé Chardonnay from Elephant Hill tastes The Salomé Chardonnay shows beautiful aromas of ripe stone fruit, pineapple and citrus fruits, accompanied by nutty and slightly roasted aromas. On the palate it is very balanced, complex and concentrated. A lot of lush fruit and creamy enamel are well supported by the delicate acidity and salty minerality. A sumptuous and at the same time refined wine, with a good drinking flow and a long, engaging finish.