Ancre Hill Chardonnay 2020
Type: White
Country: Wales
Region: Monmouth
Grape Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Alcohol Percentage: 10%
Viticulture: Biodynamic | Organic Farming
Terroir: Vineyards lie on south-facing slopes close to the border town of Monmouth in the Wye Valley, on a soilbed of ancient mudstone and sandstone. The estate practises traditional biodynamic and organic viticulture
Ageing: Whole bunch pressed, fermented in stainless steel and oak barrel. Aged on gross lees for a minimum of 10 months, natural MLF, no filtration, no fining, typically bottled with a small addition of SO2
Color: Pale yellow
Nose: White-pepper aromas that turn apricot, lime and toasted tangerine as the wine warms and opens
Palate: Complex palate with hints of peppery lime and crunchy greengage fruit
About the Winery:
Ancre Hill Estates is located in the beautiful Welsh county of Monmouthshire. The 12 hectares of vineyards are perfectly positioned on south-facing slopes close to the border town of Monmouth and the Wye Valley (AONB). The Estates’ ethos is to deliver wines of the highest quality, utilising traditional Biodynamic and Organic Viticultural practices to produce the best possible fruits from carefully sourced and selected varieties with excellent heritage.
Great care and attention are paid to applying the biodynamic preparations to the vineyard. The use of sulphur is kept to a minimum with the addition of wild plant Tisanes made on the Estate. Insecticides, Pesticides and Herbicides are not used at all, with weeds ploughed out from under the vines.
The wines produced at Ancre Hill express the terroir of ancient mudstone and sandstone soils, giving the wines their character and natural flavours, with no external intervention or manipulation in the winemaking process. The style of wine at Ancre Hill Estates continues to evolve, with small-batch fermentation occurring almost entirely in oak barrels and concrete eggs. Fermentations are solely carried out by wild yeasts and bacteria with the avoidance of filtration and fining for the finished wines wherever possible.
