Henschke Croft Chardonnay

Henschke Croft Chardonnay bottle image

Wine Description

Fifth-generation winemaker Stephen Henschke and his wife Prue purchased the Lenswood property in the Adelaide Hills in 1981. The chardonnay vineyard, which consists of seven clones, has taken its name from Frederick Croft, an orchardist who took up a neighbouring property in 1938.

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Acclaim
"The mature vineyard, and the disciplined approach to picking the grapes using knowledge gained over 10+ years, give the wine more depth and mouthfeel than its Archer's Vineyard sibling. Grapefruit, white peach and apple are joined at the hip with touches of roasted cashew and gently toasty oak."
— James Halliday, Mar 2017
"Starts off with crisp and bright Key lime, green apple and lemon zest flavors, with tangy acidity. Crescendos with complex hints of honeysuckle, lemon thyme, mineral and spice on the finish."
— Wine Spectator, Jan 2016
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Lenswood Vineyard
Soil composition
Well-drained sandy loam over medium clay interspersed with shale fragments overlying a shale bedrock
Elevation:
1,804 feet
Harvest time:
4-15 March
First vintage of this wine:
1989
Average Vine Age:
30 years
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Chardonnay
Fermentation container:
Barrels
Malolactic fermentation:
no
Fining agent:
Animal based
Type of aging container:
Barriques
Type of oak:
French
Length of aging before bottling:
10 months
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Analytical Data
No relevant data were found.
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Wine Production

The 2016 vintage began with below-average winter rainfall, followed by a warm and dry spring, which enhanced flowering and set to provide average to above-average yield potential. Low disease pressure was maintained by one of the hottest Decembers on record, though temperatures cooled down in the New Year and rainfall around veraison in late January/early February brought relief to our early-ripening varieties in the Adelaide Hills, resulting in excellent conditions for natural acid retention and clean fruit. This was followed by further rainfall in early March, which eased the stress on the late-ripening varieties, allowing them to mature towards a predicted earlier harvest due to an early Easter. Open, light and airy vine canopies allowed for good flavour, sugar and colour development, which was overall characterised by average yields but very high quality.

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About the Vineyard

At 550m, the Lenswood vineyards offer not only magnificent views over the traditional vine country but also higher rainfall and humidity at the right time of the year, cooler temperatures to retain high natural acidity, and still enough sunshine to fully ripen the grapes.