As you might expect, Voyager’s foray into the sparkling arena has class plastered all over it. Perhaps surprisingly, however—given this producer’s enviable reputation with Chardonnay—it was crafted entirely from Chenin Blanc (drawn from Voyager Estate’s Weightmans Block 1). This patch of Chenin ripens and develops flavour early, giving full and punchy fruit character while retaining excellent natural acidity at lower potential alcohol.
The fruit was picked by hand and pressed as whole bunches to tank for cool fermentation. A small portion (5%) of the fruit was siphoned off to ferment in a new oak puncheon, lending further complexity and flavour dimension. Made using the traditional method, following a short maturation in tank, the wine was bottled and remained on lees until February, when it was disgorged with a light dosage of four to five g/L. Cheninpagne!