Description / Reviews
"78% Tasman Peninsula and 22% East Coast Chardonnay was hand-picked and chilled overnight before being whole bunch pressed into seasoned French oak (300L) and left to undergo wild fermentation with the inclusion of some solids. 50% of the wine was sulphured immediately post primary fermentation with the remaining 50% stirred without SO2 for 3 months. 9 months in oak prior to blending and bottling.
The wine is pale yellow with flecks of green. There are aromas of fresh grapefruit and citrus zest, enhanced by taught flinty aromas, cashew nut and sublte oak spice. Taught and mealy on the palate, supported by poignant ripe nectarine and grapefruit, weaving complexity and acidity, with captivating drive and length. Cellar for 5-7 years." - Liam McElhinney, Lowestoft, Winemaker
"Coal River Valley chardonnay, whole-bunch pressed into seasoned French oak (300L) for wild ferment before maturing for nine months in oak prior to blending and bottling. Pale straw, with vibrant aromas of grapefruit, white peach and nectarine cut with hints of struck-match complexity, spiced oatmeal, almond paste and riverstone. There's a lot going on here. It's like an orchestra; you can hear it as a whole but are able to delineate and pick out individual instruments, politely golf (orchestra?) clapping as you go, marvelling at the tautly stretched fruit canvas, umami-rich acid line and overall composition and drive. A cracker." - 96 Points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
"Clearly made with ambition and a view to ageing in bottle. The oak circumnavigates the fruit with bold, unassailable confidence but it doesn't in any way quash it. The fruit (nectarine, vineyard peach, sour cherry, clementine) has purity and elegance and persistent presence from start to finish. It has a stony, river-pebble heart, wild-thyme fragrance, and grace notes that taste a little of lemongrass and lavender. Intense spices deeply folded into concentrated sweetness that reminds me of Alphonso mango. It's complex, beautifully structured; rich yet arced; and very long." - 17.5/20, Tamlyn Currin, Jancis Robinson
