Stonehaven Stepping Stone Chardonnay 2006 CONFIRM 2006 VINTAGE

Stepping Stone Chardonnay 2006 - Buy
Chardonnay Padthaway South Australia
The Stepping Stone Padthaway Chardonnay shows distinct regional characters and represents fantastic value. The complex wines emerging from the Padthaway vineyards are acknowledged as some of Australia's finest. Positioned at the gateway to the Limestone Coast, the region is characterised by vast views of vines and majestic eucalypts. Deep straw with green hues, aromas of lemon, lime and tropical fruit precede a fresh and lively palate. A creamy, nutty finish makes this wine an ideal choice with pasta in cream sauces and chicken stuffed with camembert and prosciutto.
The complex wines emerging from the Padthaway vineyards are acknowledged as some of Australia's finest. Well regarded for Chardonnay, Padthaway is slightly warmer than neighbouring winegrowing areas and is characterised by red-brown loamy soils over a limestone base. A portion of the juice was barrel fermented using predominantly wild yeasts. The cuvee was then stirred for nine months on lees, adding lovely complexity and creaminess to the palate.
Pale straw in colour, the wine shows lifted lemon and lime aromas with complex flinty, malt characters. The palate is rich and flavoursome, with delicate white peach and citrus fruit, a tight mineral acidity and a soft creaminess contributing to the silky texture. There are hints of wild lychee and a fine creamy texture that makes this an excellent choice to be served well chilled or as an accompaniement to gourmet cuisine.
Stonehaven
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Stonehaven
Stonehaven opened in March 1998, and is located just 6km south of Padthaway, the gateway to South Australia's Limestone Coast

Stonehaven takes its name from one of its vineyards which originally formed part of the pioneering Hynam Station established by one of the region's first settlers Adam Smith in 1846. Stonehaven features the latest winemaking technology that provides the winemaker with unprecedented control over the winemaking process, allowing them to maximise the special characters of every batch of premium fruit that comes into the winery.

Stonehaven

Since opening, the winery and its wines have won numerous awards, including a number of gold medals at major national and international wine shows and an engineering excellence award. In 2000 Stonehaven was honoured to be named 'International Winery of the Year' at the prestigious San Francisco International Wine Competition. Though Stonehaven can process 10,000 tonnes of fruit every vintage, each vineyard block can receive individual treatment. Fruit can be soft pressed in very small batches to fully capture regional characteristics.

Through a specially designed computer program, every stage of the winemaker's craft can be managed with a precision previously unknown. Fermentation can be controlled to maximise varietal flavours. Reds are tasted twice a day and whites once a day to monitor their progress. The result is superbly crafted wines. Perfectly matched to contemporary tastes. Singular expressions of the winemaker's art.

This hall is exactly one acre in size and at full capacity can hold 15,000 barrels, which is equivalent to 500,000 dozen bottles of wine. After crushing and fermentation, the wines which require barrel maturation are pumped to this hall and decanted into a selection of the finest French and American oak available. This maturation in oak allows the wine to develop structure and further character to complement the fruit flavours but never to dominate them. The time the wine spends in barrel varies depending on the wine and in some cases, Susanne Bell will ferment in barrel which adds further unique characters to the resulting wine.

Stonehaven

Stonehaven sources fruit from more that 2,200 acres of premium vineyard holdings in several distinctly different microclimates located throughout the prestigious Limestone Coast district of South Australia. These include: Padthaway 452 hectares, Wrattonbully 160 hectares, and Coonawarra 127 hectares.

Located in the south eastern corner of South Australia, the Limestone Coast includes Padthaway, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, Mount Benson, Robe and Mount Gambier. Stonehaven wines are blended from fruit sourced from all three of the major areas; namely Padthaway, Coonawarra and Wrattonbully, which make up the Limestone Coast.

Areas more northerly and inland (such as Padthaway) experience less rainfall and more sunlight hours than their coastal neighbors, although generous cloud cover and mild temperatures are common. These factors permit grapes to ripen more slowly, developing full fruit flavors without losing acidity.

Arguably one of the best regions for producing outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra is a long established region renowned for its textured Terra Rossa soils over a limestone base, providing excellent drainage. The southernmost of Stonehaven's vineyards, Coonawarra is a cool climate region, and this is reflected in the structure, longevity and fruit expression of the wines.

Stonehaven