2022 Penfolds Bin 22A Reserve Chardonnay Adelaide Hills South Australia
Varieties |
Chardonnay
|
Vintage |
2022
|
Country |
Australia
|
Region |
Adelaide Hills
|
Bottle Size |
750ml
|
Drinking Window |
2024 – 2035
|
Reserve Bin A Chardonnay has evolved into a wine that is now a distinctive, single-region style in its own right, with a contemporary and expressive Adelaide Hills chardonnay persona. Fruit is hand-picked into small bins and then whole-bunch pressed. A portion of the juice is allowed to undergo a natural fermentation, sans inoculation. Every new and seasoned French oak barrique is its own unique 225-litre ferment. Enhanced mouthfeel and complexity is achieved by fermenting and maturing on solids with regular yeast lees stirring (bâttonage). 100% malolactic fermentation (all natural).
Tasting Notes
A powerful, complex and dynamic wine. The phenolics have plenty of depth and length. The palate has real drive, held together by a core of taught acidity. The mouthfeel has a lovely texture and weight. Stone fruits provide sweetness, white peach and nectarines. Old fashioned poached loquats in syrup. Almond meal and freshly sliced pear. Wet steel and river pebble minerality. The finish is long and memorable.
Winemaking
The 2022 Adelaide Hills vintage was celebrated for its long cool ripening and the absence of adverse outcomes from the forecast La Niña influence. The region enjoyed healthy winter rainfall and a relatively dry September which encouraged good canopy development and even budburst. Spring temperatures were generally cooler than average with October being the coldest in decades. A hailstorm on the 28th of October caused some crop loss. The cold weather delayed flowering and fruit set by several weeks, however yields were near average. Generally mild weather prevailed over summer and autumn, resulting in a long growing season and leisurely harvest. These conditions were very conducive to growing quality chardonnay with strong varietal characteristics and bracing natural acidity.