The Roman Road Chardonnay 2022

Pale straw hued, with a complex matrix of lemon and honeysuckle, white peach, vanilla and flint on the nose, this Chardonnay displays mouth-watering, ripe fruit intensity balanced with an elegant minerality, smooth macadamia nut texture and a long, lingering finish.

This is the seventh vintage of The Roman Road Chardonnay to be released from the Estate in Barham, Kent. The grapes (clone 548) were harvested during the last week of October in order to find the perfect balance of aroma, flavour and acidity.

Once pressed, the juice was left to settle for 12 hours then racked to both barrel and stainless-steel tanks with a high level of solids.

A combination of conventional and indigenous yeasts were used to ferment the several batches that formed the final Roman Road blend and as with the previous vintage, we utilised two 600L French oak barrels to add an extra layer of complexity. The wine went through a full malolactic fermentation.

25% of the final blend was fermented in new French oak with 25% aged in older French barrels. Bâtonnage of certain barrels was completed with the frequency and duration dependent on taste. The remaining 50% of the blend stayed on fermentation lees in stainless-steel tanks, however was not stirred, by way of passive bâtonnage. Given the microbial stability of the wine, it received just a light earth filtration prior to bottling in spring 2023.