2023 A. Rodda Willow Lake Chardonnay, Yarra Valley

Light green-ish yellow colour, fresh and youthfui all round. There are lime, grapefruit and lemon aromas, all very citrusy, but enhanced with toasted cashew oak scents, the palate intense and generous, at the same time refined and tensioned with mouth-watering acidity and a long and satisfying carry. Lovely now, and will take some age well. 04 Dec 2024 Drink 2024–2038

95 points Huon Hooke therelareview.com

Adrian Rodda has been making wine since 1998, almost entirely working with David Bicknell at Oakridge. He was involved in the development of the superb Oakridge 864 Chardonnay. At the start of 2010 he and wife Christie, a doctor, decided to move to Beechworth, and it was no coincidence that he was a long-term friend of viticulturist Mark Walpole. Yet further coincidences came with the Smiths Vineyard and winery being available for lease; he now shares it with Mark, who makes his Beechworth wines there. Even more propitious was the availability of Smiths Vineyard chardonnay, planted in 1978. The quality of the portfolio has been consistently excellent.