Awards and Accolades

Best Yarra Valley Chardonnay - 2017 Halliday Chardonnay Challenge.

2015 Vintage: 95 Points, James Halliday - The Wine Companion
"Hand-picked, whole bunch-pressed 'dirty juice' run to French oak for wild fermentation and 7 months maturation (with lees stirring). There is a gently savoury edge ex the cloudy juice fermentation that lees stirring hasn't diminished; has very good line, length and balance, all reflecting the great chardonnay vintage."

From the Winery

The 2016 season will be remembered as the earliest and most compressed on record. Though we started the same day as 2015, on February 14th, we finished on February 28th a whole four weeks earlier. A very warm, dry spring followed by a dry summer ensured fruit ripened early but in perfect condition. Late January rains of 40mm freshened the vines at just the right time and the wines are looking expressive, flavoursome and balanced. Moderate alcohols and acids this year will ensure wonderful drinking in the mid-term

On the 14th of February our grapes were picked from the low yielding middle and top part of our single 2-hectare Chardonnay site. The soil is more shallow, gravelly here and flavours are subtle, powerful and mineral/soil derived. After hand-picking, the grapes were cooled overnight then whole-bunch pressed the following morning. Pristine but very cloudy juice was then transferred with full solids to French oak barriques and puncheons (32% new). Indigenous fermentation in barrel lasted around one month and elevage in barrel only 6 months. No battonage and no MLF, the wine was blended with full lees and left in tank to integrate for 3 further months before being bottled with minimal filtration on November 30th, 2017. 439 dozen produced.

Brilliant very pale straw, some luminescent greens. The nose is highly restrained, subtle with hints of grapefruit, ginger spice and lime. The palate is poised, lively and full of purpose. The earth derived pithiness is wrapped in powerful white peach fruit and framed with zesty, frisky natural acids. Complex, very tight grain oak is in the background and ensures the structure and integrity of the wine is in place for at least 5-7 years in bottle.