2023 Jean Bouteille Al Dente
WINEMAKER: Jean-Baptiste Courdesses
REGION: Barossa Valley, SA
VARIETY: Chardonnay
VITICULTURE: Organic
100% Chardonnay from Matt Rohrlach organically farmed & Certified vineyard in Williamstown. The Vines thrives on Loamy soil over red & yellow clay on undulating hills at the foot of the Hale Conservation Park. The Chardonnay has been all hand picked at optimum phenolic ripeness & whole bunched tipped into a stainless steel tank & enclosed to undergo carbonic maceration for about a week till the pressure in CO2 really pick up.
Foot stomped to progressively extract the juice out of the berries & feed the yeast. The tank is then completely sealed up at the end of the primary fermentation and kept closed for seven weeks. The must has been pressed in a horizontal screw press quite oxidatively before heading to old seasoned French barriques which were filled to 80% & un-topped for the full length of élevage of seven month. As a result the barriques have seen the formation of a yeast veil on top of the wine with a slight influence on its aromatic & its alcohol content. Bottled on site in our Basket Range winery without fining nor filtration.
After accumulating years of experience from various fermentation, farming & hospitality work around the world, Jean-Baptiste Courdesses started in 2019 to hand make wines exclusively from organically farmed grapes, focus on regenerative practices & made naturally without any additions, fining nor filtration but only grape juice. Our small scale winery is based in Basket Range, Adelaide Hills. We farm our vineyard according to a strict organic method & purchase fruits from like-minded trusty viticulturist to craft wines only from the highest quality grapes. Based on intuitive reaction & natural instincts decisions, our wines reflect the landscape & the character of the grape varieties only permitted by a farming respectful of the environment, the fauna & flora.