2024 Luke Lambert Crudo Chardonnay, Yarra Valley

Lambert’s stimulating Crudo Chardonnay hails from the east/northeast-facing slope on the Denton vineyard’s cone-shaped site. The vines are now 22 years old, sitting on expressive soils of granitic sand over heavy granite boulders. The fruit was pressed as bunches and vinified entirely in tank. The wine went through full malolactic conversion and was bottled without fining or filtration and with minimal sulphur.

The granite soils of the Denton vineyard are most evident in the Chardonnay wines,” says Luke, and we’ve certainly experienced that extra mineral depth in the Lambert Crudo and Estate Chardonnays since he moved his sourcing here. The new release is full of ripe citrus, stone fruits, talc and flint, with weighty mouthfeel cinched by zippy, balanced acidity and a citrus, mineral-rich close. Yarra Chardonnay at this quality, interest and price point is a rare bird.