2006 Schubert

Vineyard

The Bloodwood Schubert vineyard is to the east of the cellar door on a gentle undulating north-east slope of volcanoclastic loams interspersed with mass flow rounded cobbles of crystalline andesitic lava over quite a friable red clay base. The vines are of the FVI10V5 clone, planted in rows running north-south and trellised to a Scott-Henry trellis system opened to the west. The vines are spur pruned to around 80,000 buds per hectare and with each vine occupying 4.5 square meters of the vineyard, yields are moderate in most years.

Vintage Conditions

Another easy balanced vintage this for us with exceptional rain during late winter and spring 2005. However the dry returned with a big leering grin in early February and held right through the ripening months. In the end, fruit quality and quantity was well above average with good acid balance and fine fruit flavours. Hand -picking of this Schubert took place on 8th March 2006.

Winemaking

The hand-picked fruit was cooled overnight before whole-bunch pressing in an air-bag press to 1.1 atmospheres with the low phenolic juice transferred to an insulated tank for overnight settling and subsequent racking. Some fine settlings were allowed to pass into the racking tank where, under gentle warmth, the juice commenced fermentation. After a brix or so converted, the newly moving juice was transferred to new French oak hogsheads and held in a warming room throughout primary fermentation. This is critical at Bloodwood as the autumn nights can be quite chilly, and a stuck barrel ferment is a winemakers biggest pain. Usually, ferment is conducted around 20 C to dryness over 20 days or so. The wine is then immediately sulfured, lees stirred and relocated to the cool maturation cellar for extended aging. The fine lees are kept in contact with the wine through regular stirring and after eighteen months, the wine is bench trialled, cold stability tested, protein checked and sterile filtered into bottle.

Wine Analysis

Tasting Notes

Bloodwood 2005 Schubert http://winewriter.blogspot.com/2009/05/orange-next-big-thing-in-wine.html
This is the premium Chardonnay for Bloodwood and boy is it delicious. White nectarine and sweet cashew nut are backed by a fierce and sexy acid backbone. Delicious with duck or pork.
Quality 4 stars / Value 3.75 stars / $28

2005 Bloodwood Chardonnay Schubert 89 Points http://www.grapestories.com/event.asp?iEvent=10479
Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
I found this a rather impressive new world Chardonnay. Clearly higher alcohol and bigger on the nose than the straight Chard, but also with more layered nuances, with white fruit complemented with integrate almond and spice notes. I thought the palate was rather more impressive than the bouquet led on, with lemony, grapefruity citrus notes running alongside ripe apples and almond nut, with crisp acidity and some flinty mineral giving the wine a nice sense of definition and delineation. Finish was longish too, with white fruit, toasty nut and spice notes rounding the wine off. I enjoyed this.

Mr Halliday’s Review of 2005 Schubert
Intense, beautifully structured wine, which gradually builds flavour through the length of the palate, with seamless stone fruit and oak; Chardonnay. Screwcap.
14% alc. Rating 94 Drink 2015

Mr Halliday’s Review of 2006 Schubert
(watch This space)

2010 Chardonnay

Vineyard

This vineyard is the original Chardonnay vineyard at Bloodwood , and as such is responsible for much of the perception of quality that today surrounds Orange Chardonnay as a style. The free draining, but poor soils are derived from a mixture of laminated siltstones and massive volcaniclastic sandstone over a deep free draining pale substrate on a northerly slope of 15 degrees or so. Rows are arranged East/West on a pretty close planting of 1.5 by 2.5 metres. The vines are from the traditionally reserved P58 clone, and are trellised to a moderately formal VSP trellis system. Because of the lack of vigour in both the clone and the site, cane pruning is used in this vineyard to better balance the vines.

Vintage Conditions

Winemaking

The initial approach for the Chardonnay is much the same as the Schubert, although the grapes are usually picked slightly earlier. The hand-picked fruit was cooled overnight before whole-bunch pressing in an air-bag press to 1.1 atmospheres with the low phenolic juice transferred to an insulated tank for overnight settling and subsequent racking. Some fine settlings were allowed to pass into the racking tank where, under gentle warmth, the juice commenced fermentation. After a brix or so conversion, the newly moving juice was split into 30% well seasoned old oak with the balance fermented to dryness over 29 days in stainless steel. After primary fermentation, both parcels of the wine were sulfured to inhibit malo-lactic fermentation, stirred and transferred to our cool maturation cellar where it spent five months sitting on lees. Stirring only occurs if any reductive notes are seen. The wine was then bench trialled, cold stabilized, protein fined and sterile bottled in the January following vintage. Pretty simple approach really with the wine normally making itself.

Wine Analysis

Tasting Notes

Mr Halliday’s Review of 2009 Chardonnay
A zesty, zippy bouquet is citrus-dominated, but varietal expression comes through on the lively white peach and grapefruit palate. Screwcap.
13.5% alc. Rating 92 Drink 2014

Winewise Vol 26, Number 2
Highly Recommended
Restrained, fresh, and grapefruity. A very attractive chardonnay from Orange,N.S.W., in the flinty Chablis style. Distinctive and classy. Excellent Value.