2024 Holm Oak The Wizard Chardonnay, Tamar Valley

Bright, light yellow colour with an intense aroma of lemon acid drops. A whiff of toasty cashew and pencil-wood overlying it. The palate is delicate, refined and tense, with bright lively flavour, the fruit doing most of the talking, the balance and texture are seamless. Good concentration of fruit. Lovely wine indeed, with more to show us given the time 15 Oct 2025 Drink 2026–2037

95 points Huon Hoooke therealreview.com

Holm Oak The Wizard Chardonnay from the Tamar Valley is the flagship white of this family owned northern Tasmanian estate, a wine that captures the precision, purity, and quiet power that cool climate Chardonnay can achieve when grown on exceptional vineyard sites. Tim and Rebecca Duffy tend their vines with meticulous care, farming on ancient, well drained soils of clay loam over volcanic and alluvial substrates that give Chardonnay both structure and mineral length. The Tamar Valley’s maritime climate brings cool nights, steady breezes, and a long ripening season, helping grapes develop intensity without heaviness and a natural acidity that gives The Wizard its unmistakable tension.

The Wizard is made only from the finest parcels of the oldest Holm Oak vines. Fruit is hand picked at dawn, whole bunch pressed for delicacy, and fermented with wild yeast in a selection of French oak barrels chosen for their subtlety rather than overt flavour. A portion of new oak adds finesse while the majority is seasoned, allowing orchard fruit, citrus, and mineral notes to remain at the centre. Lees stirring is used judiciously to build creamy texture without losing precision. The wine is matured on lees for an extended period, developing quiet complexity and savoury detail before bottling.

In the glass it shows pale gold with green shimmer. The aroma is refined yet deeply expressive, offering white peach, lemon curd, and nectarine alongside almond meal, chamomile, flint, and a touch of sea spray. With air it reveals more depth, showing hints of baked apple, toasted hazelnut, and subtle spice from barrel fermentation.

The palate is focused, textural, and beautifully layered. Stone fruit and citrus glide across a silky mid palate shaped by gentle lees weight. Beneath the fruit sits a spine of mineral freshness, a hallmark of the Tamar Valley’s soils and cool climate. The finish is long, savoury, and quietly powerful, lingering with notes of peach skin, lemon zest, and crushed rock. It is a Chardonnay of restraint and precision, built more on finesse than richness, yet carrying impressive substance.

It pairs beautifully with roast chicken, scallops, grilled lobster, creamy pasta with herbs, or soft cheeses. The structure suggests excellent cellaring potential for six to ten years, during which it will develop greater nutty complexity and deeper savoury notes.