Wild fermented in 50% new French Oak for 6 months and 50% in tank with cultivated yeast. I suspect the oak was cured with water rather than heat, the water cured oak results in a gentler oak expression allowing greater harmony between fruit and oak. Of course this is just a guess I didn’t put that specific question to Mark.
A lovely straw colour in the glass with gleaming golden hues and glints of softer pastel greens. Just a little oak in the bouquet but the main wafts are ripe stone fruits, sour and perhaps just a little piquant, some packham pears and citrus.
The palate is a long series of presented delights, the oak is present but gently expressed, certainly the main feature is the sour and somewhat pithy stone fruits but these are supported by some fresh citrus, particularly lemons with some twists of limes and lurking underneath some pears, more poached than fresh, slowly and reluctantly give way to honeydew melons. The acid is a lovely tongue tingling experience late on the palate and the master stroke is that all of this is carried in a textural river, not a river filled with cream it has more subtlety and less viscosity so that it’s palatal massage approaches a lazy lingering languorous seduction impossible to resist.
Granite Belt Chardonnay at it’s best, this is a lovely medium bodied wine and exemplifies the expression of local fruit and it’s variant possibilities, after those horrible drought years it seems we are witnessing nature showing its remarkable resilience. From my recent trip to the region (23/24/25/2021) I’m avidly looking forward to the 2021 whites.
This wine was a sample from Mark Ravenscroft – thank you Mark. Of course after tasting at Cellar Door I did purchase several more, I do challenge chardonnay aficionados to do otherwise!
Tasted: Monday 6th September, 2021 without food and then with over several hours.
Alcohol: 13%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $45
Suggested Drinking Window: 2021 – 2030
Winemaker: Mark Ravenscroft
Fruit Source: Local GI
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