2006 Paternoster Heaven's Door Chardonnay

Tasting Note
A remarkable mature Chardonnay with the depth, concentration and longevity that define Paternoster’s rare Heaven’s Door wines. Now two decades from vintage, the wine has evolved from its youthful fruit into a beautifully layered expression of mature Chardonnay. Golden stone fruit, ripe nectarine and preserved lemon lead into more complex aromas of citrus marmalade, honey, toasted hazelnut and subtle flinty mineral notes. The palate is rich and concentrated, yet remarkably fresh, with generous fruit and a luscious, almost creamy texture held together by vibrant natural acidity. Fine French
oak is seamlessly integrated, contributing gentle toast, spice and nutty complexity rather than dominating the wine. There is an impressive interplay between richness and freshness — powerful enough to command attention, yet sufficiently precise and
energetic to remain elegant. A distinctive Australian Chardonnay with both generosity and restraint, showing just how beautifully Paternoster’s cool Emerald vineyard can age.

Finish
Exceptionally long and persistent, with layers of preserved citrus, honey, roasted nuts, flint and gently savoury oak. The acidity carries the wine through the finish, leaving a clean mineral line beneath the richer mature-Chardonnay characters.

Drinking / Cellaring
Drinking beautifully now and entering a compelling mature drinking window. The wine has the concentration and natural acidity to continue evolving, but its combination of tertiary complexity, freshness and texture makes it particularly rewarding to drink now. Will continue to develop gracefully for another 5 years under excellent cellaring conditions.

Technical Details
Region: Emerald, Victoria
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2006
ABV: 13.5%

Vintage Conditions: An unusually early and warm vintage in the Yarra Valley, with harvest commencing approximately three weeks ahead of schedule following a warm spring and unusually high summer temperatures. Fruit reached flavour ripeness quickly, while early harvesting helped retain natural acidity. The vintage was considered very good across varieties, with exceptional parcels of Chardonnay produced in the cooler Victorian regions.

Vineyard: Paternoster’s 2-hectare dry-farmed vineyard in Emerald, a cool-cold climate site planted at high density with strictly controlled yields of less than 1.5 tonnes per acre. The combination of low yields, cool conditions and natural acidity provides the structure required for long-term bottle maturation.

Winemaking: 100% barrel fermentation at low temperature, with partial malolactic fermentation and exclusive use of French oak. Paternoster employs soft pressing and minimal-intervention winemaking, with the oak intended to contribute refinement and
texture rather than dominate the vineyard expression.