Our Wines

We passionately believe that great wines are made in the vineyard so at Domaine Chater we do everything possible to make sure that the grapes arrive at the winery in the best possible condition. A cornerstone of our winemaking philosophy is the control of yields from the vines. Small volumes make concentrated, rich wines and in 2007 we began to manage the vineyard organically. Chater wines have been awarded many medals in national and international competitions, received great approval in several important wine publications and fantastic feedback from our customers. All our grapes are picked by hand.

White Wines

Our white wines are made exclusively from Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh and full of fruit, they show the full range of typical sauvignon flavours; A citrussy background (gooseberry, grapefruit and lemon) is complemented by tropical fruit notes (lychee) and floral aromas (elderflowers). Great with seafood, chicken and spicy oriental dishes.

Winemaking notes

We pick our grapes early in the morning to keep them as cool as possible. Rather than press them immediately we cool the grapes and allow the skins to rest on the juice for up to 2 days to extract typical fruit flavours. We keep contact with the air to an absolute minimum and temperature is carefully controlled during fermentation to preserve fruitiness. When fermentation is complete the wine is aged on the lees for three months with regular stirring to add body and complexity to the wine.

Red Wines

Made from a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, two styles of red wines are produced at Domaine Chater; traditional (a majority of the wine aged in our stainless steel tanks) and oak aged (made from old vines and aged in 100% French Oak). Our traditional wines have the emphasis upon rich fruit flavours with subtle tannins and are great with red meat dishes. Chater oak aged wines are made with 40-year old vines and barrel-aged for 12 months in French oak barrels with one-third of the barrels being renewed every year - producing complex wines with layers of fruit, liquorice and spice. Great with red meat and rich sauces.

Winemaking notes

Before starting fermentation we keep the grapes cool and allow them to soak in their own juice for five days to maximise extraction of fresh fruit flavours. Temperatures are controlled during fermentation to retain fruitiness and to extract only the ripe tannins in the skins of the grapes. We vinify each of the different grape varities and parcels of our vineyard separately and each year make the best possible blends for each of our wines.

Rosé

Chater Rosé is made from Cabernet grapes, producing a wine rich in fruit that is balanced with a crisp acidity. Deep in colour and full of strawberry and raspberry flavours this multi-medal winning wine is great as an aperatif or with barbecues and salads.

Winemaking notes

We pick Cabernet grapes just to make our rosé. This means we can pick the grapes at the ideal time for rosé. A prolonged soak on the skins gives a rich colour and deep fruit flavours. As for our white wine, fermentation is kept really cool to preserve all the fruit flavours.