Place Of Changing Winds Bullengarook Chardonnay 2019

Tasting Notes

This is our first, tiny Chardonnay release. It comes from a parcel of vines with a density of 12,000 vines/ha. In 2019 we harvested 4,400 Chardonnay vines to get only 900kg of fruit. The fruit was whole-bunch pressed, hard and fast, and sent to barrel with all solids. Fermentation was in new wood—a single 300-litre Stockinger barrel and one 228-litre Dominique Laurent barrel—and then the wine was transferred to an older, neutral, 500-litre cask with all lees for aging. Finally, the wine was transferred to tank for a number of months before bottling in June 2020.

We believe we have a very interesting place for Chardonnay. Even with these miniscule yields we got terrific acidity and excellent pH (3.2 at picking, finishing at 3.35). This wine has gone through 100% malolactic and yet still retains plenty of freshness. It’s intense, floral and tonic. - Rob Walters