Forester Estate

Margaret River Yelverton Reserve Chardonnay 2024

Grape variety -  100% Chardonnay - Gingin clone.
Oak maturation - 10 months - 34% new, and 66% 2 year old French oak barriques and puncheons.
Colour - Pale straw-green.
Aroma - Intense, rich and complex, the wine opens with meal, lanolin and nutty oak. There’s a minerally-gunflint complexity with underlying lime and grapefruit.
Palate - A long and focused palate with great drive, very fine acidity and an elegant creamy texture. There are complex characters of lanolin, flint and roasted nuts with a creamy lees richness. A complex and elegant Chardonnay with balanced richness and acidity that will age gracefully over the next 8 years.
Food matches - Pumpkin ravioli, grilled veal chops, cheddar cheese, seafood. 
Peak drinking - Drinking well upon release but has the potential to evolve and impress towards 2033.
Viticulture - All the fruit used to make the Yelverton Chardonnay is sourced from our Forrest Vineyard located in Wilyabrup. The grapes are grown with absolute attention to detail. Identification of soil boundaries within blocks is the first step in selecting potentially superior fruit. Close monitoring and analysis of these vines leads to shoot or bunch thinning by hand if required to obtain the perfect balance for good exposure and healthy ripening. A philosophy of minimal inputs in this premium block allows the unique combination of variety, soil type and microclimate to shine through and produce a parcel of fruit with true character. The 2024 vintage had a warm to hot growing season leading to an early harvest in late January which helped to retain fine natural acidity.
Winemaking - Our Forester Yelverton Chardonnay grapes are hand picked and held in cold storage overnight to eliminate the need for must chilling. All fruit is whole bunch pressed with only the first 500 litres per tonne used to make this wine. The juice is then left to start fermentation naturally in barrel. 22% of the wine was put through malo-lactic fermentation for the sole purpose of reducing the harsh malic acid. The barrels had minimal lees stirring over the 10 months on lees. 
Storage and Bottling - The 2024 Yelverton was bottled in January of 2025 to premium Burgundy glass with a stelvin closure. Stored in our temperature controlled cellar prior to release this wine is drinking exceptionally.