2023 Clarence House Reserve Chardonnay Half Bottle 375mL, Southern Tasmania

Please note: this is the 375mL size of the wine (half/demi-bottle)

Single block chardonnay from the Clarence House estate at the base of the Meehan ranges between the Coal River Valley and Hobart. Lemon, grapefruit and white peach fruits daubed with soft spice and hints of white flowers, grilled nuts, vanillin oak, oatmeal, almond paste and stone. Some lovely texture and tension. The clarity of flavours is on point here, with plenty of crystalline drive and appeal.

94 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, September 2024

Clarence House is historic homestead built in 1830 on land which was originally the market garden for the city of Hobart. Located in the foothills of the Meehan Ranges between River Derwent and the Coal River Valley, its present owner David Kilpatrick first planted vines on the property’s dolerite and basalt northeast facing slopes in 1998. Numerous clones of Pinot Noir dominate the now 16-hectare vineyard, followed by Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and tiny experimental blocks of Pinot Blanc, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The vineyard is managed with judicious use of inputs and sustainability in mind. Systemic herbicides, insecticides and fungicides are not used, the under vine area is slashed, the inter-row sward is left to thrive and flower, irrigation is used sparingly and the vine canopies are treated in a way that promotes balanced, tempered growth in line with the current season’s conditions.

All Clarence House wines are made by Justin Bubb and Anna Pooley. This wine is from a from a single block with high proportion of the Penfolds clone of Chardonnay. Whole bunch pressed and barrel fermented with indigenous yeasts, the wine was matured for six months in a combination of new and seasoned French oak barriques and puncheons.