Chambers Rosewood - Rutherglen Muscat NV
Chambers Rosewood Vineyards is located in the Rutherglen region of Victoria, Australia . The estate was founded in 1858 by William Chambers and is currently operated by Stephen Chambers , the sixth generation of the family. Rutherglen is particularly noted for its production of fortified sweet wines . Situated at the foot of the Australian Alps and flanked by the River Murray, Chambers Rosewood vineyards are set in prime wine-growing terroir and some of the vines are around 110 years old, an incredible feat as the surrounding areas were heavily affected by Phylloxera in 19th century.
This Rutherglen Muscat is made from Muscat à Petits Grains Rouges . During harvest, the Muscat grapes are partly dried out, which makes it difficult to extract the dense juice by immediate pressing. The crushed Muscat grapes therefore ferment briefly on their skins to break down the pulp and release the sugar and aromas. Once the desired amount of sugar has been fermented, the wort is placed in the press for juicing. The fermentation juice obtained is fortified with neutral grape alcohol at approximately 96% alcohol to stop the fermentation. The neutral alcohol is chosen to allow the expression of the fruit of the variety. The wine containing about 16% alcohol is transferred to stainless steel tanks. After settling and a necessary filtration to avoid the risk of refermentation in the bottle, the alcohol content of the wine is adjusted to approximately 18%. The wine is then transferred to large old barrels (900 to 5,000 litres) for ageing. The positioning of the drums is important; those higher up are subject to warmer temperatures and ripen more quickly. Most Muscats from Rutherglen are non-vintage, so blending younger and older wines is essential to achieve the optimum balance of freshness and complexity and maintain style consistency year after year. Muscat de Chambers Rosewood contains 260.3 g/L of residual sugar.
Varietal: 100% Muscat à Petits Grains Rouges