2021 Mount Mary Chardonnay

The 2021 Chardonnay is a special wine, one that speaks clearly of the Yarra Valley but one that also transcends local bounds and is a great wine of the world. Complex, seamless, spicy and creamy, the wine has textural complexity to match with the diverse flavor spectrum. It gets better as it ages, and I truly believe it will remain one of the great Australian Chardonnays for years to come. This is a remarkable wine, one that I enthusiastically recommend. 13.2% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2021 Chardonnay is not flashy but impresses thanks to its overall composure. Quite classically styled, it opens with nectarine, pear and melon aromas, coiled tight with a backbone of well-integrated quality oak. The lack of malolactic shines through here. Tangy acidity adds freshness and energy, elongating the finish. This is very tight right now and needs at least five years to start showing its best.

The only cuvee in the range to be bottled under stelvin. While this closure may promote a waft of reductive tension, reduction is never intentionally sought and depends on the nature of the fruit and yeasts of any given year. A pungent, mid-weighted expression with real torque: tension, expansion and release of yellow and green plum, nectarine and a indescribable chalkiness, the oak tucked in effortlessly and barely detectible. Drinkable now, but best from 2026. Screw cap.