Organic. Initially planted by Fromm in 1996, the Folium Vineyard lies in Marlborough’s Brancott Valley. Since 2011, this beautiful site has been owned and organically tended by viticultural purist Takaki Okada, who lives in a little house in the middle of his vines. The dirt here is Southern Valley clay, around 1.5 metres deep on top of gravelly silt. These soils retain sufficient moisture during the dry summers to balance growth without the need for irrigation. Corofin only gets to work with five rows (1,200 vines).
Mike explains that the Chardonnay from this dry-grown site delivers the holy trinity of “ripeness, precision and harmony”, reflecting Takaki’s sensitive farming practices and the vineyard’s ungrafted, deep-rooted vines. The fruit was picked a few days later than Wrekin on 26th March, and winemaking was similar. It was pressed as bunches, with only the soft pressings used. Fermentation, malolactic conversion and maturation occurred in seasoned puncheons and barriques for 12 months. It then spent another eight months in tank before bottling without fining or filtration. In contrast to the linear, mineral Wrekin, Folium boasts more weight around its bones while maintaining balance and fine structure.