Henschke Croft Chardonnay
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.
Acclaim
Vineyard & Production Info
Winemaking & Aging
Analytical Data
Wine Production
After a typical wet and cold winter, spring brought particularly mild and unstable weather to Lenswood, with fog, rain and numerous hail events, fortunately with no resulting damage. These cold hail blasts delayed flowering, and due to an early Harvest Moon, the growing season became quite compressed, requiring more work in the vineyard with shoot thinning and foliage lifting. A long, dry mild spell from Christmas to Easter provided ideal ripening conditions; allowing tannins to mature, acids to moderate and depth of flavor to develop. 2018 was a fantastic years for whites in Lenswood, with high natural acidities and fantastic varietal character, showcasing purity and balance.
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.