2021 Provenance Regional Series Chardonnay, Geelong

What a beautiful chardonnay. The combination of grapefruit and nougat flavours here is delicious, to say the least, and the white peach and chalk notes through the finish only build on that. It's also both lengthy and elegant; it's a top-notch wine.

95 points Campbell Mattinson winecompanion.com.au

Grown in a vineyard planted in the late nineties and located in the Moorabool/Barwon Valley region north of Geelong. With vertical shoot positioning rows running north-south up and over a slight rise, with soil is mostly the black cracking clay commonly found on the volcanic plains that run west of Melbourne. Sections of the site have significant basalt rock content, giving depth and power.

The 2020/2021 growing season was characterised by cool conditions and steady rainfall. After good winter rains, the vines had an excellent start and the mild spring conditions were perfect for flowering. The medium to low crop yields ripened slowly through January and February, then finally March saw a perfect patch of sunshine and warmth which made for beautifully healthy fruit.

At the winery, the fruit was whole bunch pressed and gently settled in tank overnight. The next day it was racked to barriques where indigenous fermentation started after 2 days. Movement in and out of our cool-room kept the maximum ferment temperature below 20˚C. The wine matured on yeast lees for 8 months in 30% new French oak, prior to the best barrels selected, blended and bottled.