2022 Toolangi F Block Chardonnay, Yarra Valley

It’s a richer style, with some oatmeal savoury flavours, a viscous and glossy feel, but has bright well-integrated acidity. There’s some cinnamon and pastry dough, nectarine and a little spice, some chalkiness to texture, with a smooth finish of excellent length. It’s a full Chardonnay experience, but also shows such fine balance. I like this a lot.

95 points Gary Walsh thewinefront.com.au

Cosseted by the Toolangi State Forest, the estate’s F Block is a one-hectare sweet spot perched on the highest, easternmost sector of one of the Yarra’s great Chardonnay vineyards. With gentle prompting, winemaker Kaspar Hermann recently revealed this is his favourite wine to make; he prunes the block himself and channels the plot’s shallow rocky soils into a striking Chardonnay of sculpted texture and chalky resolve.

Toolangi’s ‘Block’ wines are produced from the most privileged, low-yielding parcels of the Dixon’s Creek vineyard. In particular, the F Block Chardonnay is cropped from the vineyard’s highest and coolest area, abutting the Toolangi State Forest. The soils here are relatively shallow and rockier, resulting in low yields of intensely flavoured fruit complemented by lovely natural energy. Simply, this block—home to 19-year-old vines of the Gin Gin clone—has been identified as growing the best of the best Chardonnay that this Toolangi produces.