Happs Wines Three Hills Chardonnay

Background:

Happs “Three Hills” wines are the product of a single vineyard in the southern extremity of the Margaret River appellation. The country around Karridale offers one of the most favourable contexts to grow Chardonnay in Margaret River, if not mainland Australia. The variety responds to uniformly cool temperatures during ripening and in a favourable year we have complete freedom from flavour-damaging heat spikes into the high 20s. We believe our “up & over lyre” trellis system provides the right balance between sun and shade to yield golden-coloured fruit with little green chlorophyll content and a low quotient of the accompanying astringency.

Growing the vine without water results in an extended root zone, providing a great buffer against adversity in the heat of summer, reliable performance from year to year and the ability to ripen the crop to optimal quality.

The fruit character is distinctly white peach and this with a tight fine acid structure and a voluminous mid palate defines our Karridale Chardonnay.

No other variety allows the winemaker so much room to move in terms of flavour modification in the winery. In this wine we have used wild yeast fermentation, 50% MLF on juice and barrel fermentation in 50% new and 50% one-year old oak in water-bent barrels. Yeast lees stirring and some solids inclusion in the ferment was used to produce a richly flavoured, complex wine.

The Taste

AROMA: A lifted aroma of peach, pear, grape fruit, nectarine and  lemon butter with floral notes and hints of cap gun, pastry and oak.

FLAVOUR: A fine delicate wine with intense flavour that displays white peach, ripe pear, cumquat, lemon pith and crème brulée flavours with just a hint of oyster shell that gives a fine, long, chalky finish. It is a complex style with intense fruit, wild ferment funk, background MLF, a hint of minerality and supporting oak.

VARIETY: Chardonnay, Mendoza clone.

Three Hills Vineyard

Crafted in the cool embrace of Margaret River's deep south – our vineyard's location adds a touch of finesse to each bottle, making our wines truly distinctive and undeniably fine.

Vineyard Specifications

Hectares Planted: 30 hectares

Year Planted: 1994

Climate: Mediterranean climate with strong maritime influences from having the ocean on three sides

Soil: loam with underlying laterite

Irrigation: Dry grown

Annual rainfall: 510mm

Vintage: Mid February until late April

Picking: 100% handpicked

Number of Varieties: 32

Explore our diverse range and discover the finesse in every bottle.