Oatley Barrel Matured 2014

Grape variety:  Madeleine Angevine (85%), Kerning (15%)

Quality status:  English Wine PDO - Protected Designation of Origin (Certificate ref: STPDO 10929)

Grape source:   Oatley Vineyard, Cannington, Somerset. Vineyard parcels: Madeleine upper block, Madeleine lower block, planted 1987, trained on 90 cm-high originally spur-pruned cordons, now 75% converted to double guyot. Kernling higher block and lower block planted 1986, higher block on 90cm high double Guyot, lower block 140m double guyot, hanging canes

Awards: 

Silver Medal: UKVA Wine of the Year Competition 2016. Citation: “Succulent juicy fresh fruit flavour with some nice mineral complexity”

Growing Season:  An exceptionally good growing year for grapes in England led to the sobriquet “The English Vintage of Dreams”. Warm spring after a mild but very wet  and stormy winter with famous floods in Somerset. No spring frost. A lot of flower but early bunch stem necrosis reduced the fruit set on the first clusters of the Madeleine Angevine - a commonly reported problem that year. This affected the yield but not the final quality. June and July were hot and  mostly dry, setting the fruit well, Aug cooler with some showery spells, enough rain to swell the fruit, September very warm and dry to ripen the fruit, mostly sunny and, unusually, with no wasps to trouble the thin-skinned Madeleine. A little bird-take on the row ends from blackbirds and on low-hanging bunches from pheasants. October for the Kernling ripening was benign but only average in temperature.

Harvest: Madeleine Angevine 21st Sep 2014. Grapes on harvest day and loading the trailer pictured above, Jane’s blogpost about the harvest day here >>. Weather dry, sunny and warm 21C max. Grapes, clean, good condition, no wasp, little bird damage, no disease. Kernling 26th Oct 2014, blogpost about the day here>> Cloudy but dry and reasonably warm (15C). Grapes, pictured in the winery hopper top right, with good phenolic ripeness and in very good condition.

Vinification:  Winemaker: Steve Brooksbank, Bagborough Lane, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6SX. Madeleine crushing/pressing 22nd Sep. Free-run juice: sugar 75 Oechsle, acid 8.5 g/l acid. Kernling crushing/pressing 27th Oct 2014. Free-run juice: sugar 74 Oechsle, acid 12 g/l. vinified separately in stainless steel tanks. Blended and matured 6 weeks in French oak barrique. Bottled 30 Mar 2015: clear, 400g 75cl Bordeaux bottles sealed with high quality traditional cork and sold without capsules over the cork. Label FSC certified Tintoretto paper. 283 bottles made.

Release Date:  16th July 2016  

Go to Wines/Shop >>

      

Analysis

1. •Alcohol 11.01%
   

2. •Total acidity 6.0 g/l
   

3. •pH 3.24
   

4. •Sugar < 1.0 g/l
   

5. •Total dry extract 18.0 g/l
   

6. •Free sulphur dioxide 21 mg/l
   

7. •Total sulphur dioxide 78 mg/l
   

8. •Copper 0.12 mg/l
   

9. •Iron 0.3 mg/l
   

10. •Yeasts, bacteria, moulds: nil
    

11. •Protein stability: stable
    

12. •Chill stability: stable
    

Independent post-bottling analysis by Campden BRI Ltd, Coopers Hill Rd, Nutfield, Surrey RH1 4HY, conducted 23rd Apr  2015