Bowyer Ridge Chardonnay

Handpicked fruit is gently pressed and wild fermented, then matured in a mix of new and older oak. The oak is there to build texture and length rather than flavour, leaving the acidity the site delivers to carry the wine — a Chardonnay of intensity, structure and balance.

Bowyer Ridge sits on a north-facing slope in Kenton Valley at 495 metres, planted to the Bernard 76 and 96 Chardonnay clones by Charles Rosback in 2003. Deep red loam over fractured mica schist and ironstone shifts across the site, while the elevation holds acidity deep into the ripening season without stalling flavour development. The vineyard is farmed with biological inputs, cover crops and a permanent sward.