Tasting Notes

Vintage 2022 combined good yields with high quality, which must be something of a relief given the vicissitudes of recent seasons. Who’d be a farmer eh? This is to be released April 2024.

A little struck match and funk, pink grapefruit and pear, spicy oak, some ginger, floral perfume sitting quietly behind that, waiting to unfurl. Intense, fine flinty texture and chalky grip, it’s restrained, but the power through the palate, and the length is quite something. Sappy and alive. Here’s a Chardonnay of quiet power and finesse. It’s benchmark stuff. -97pts, Gary Walsh for The Wine Front

Exceptional style and class through and through. Winemaker Keppel Smith refers to '22 as 'quite a lovely cool but wet vintage.' A thrilling ride awaits with a deep dive into arresting aromas filled with white flowers, stone fruits, Meyer lemon, nougat, almond meal and spice. Floats dreamily on the palate, fine in texture, resonating in fruit and well-judged oak, creamy in texture, bright in energy and acidity. -96pts, Jeni Port for Halliday Wine Companion

The 2022 Chardonnay hits the spot like reductive Chardonnay Beechworth is known to do. It has crushed curry leaf, burnt butter, roasted peach, blood orange and salted cashews in profusion. In the mouth, the fruit is concentrated and intense—so intense—and spools out long through the finish. The phenolics are blessedly firm and shapely, which drives the fruit across the palate and into the memory beyond. This is an exciting, textural, attractive Chardonnay here. Wowee. People—me—flock to Beechworth for the Chardonnay, and this is why. It's reductive as hell; if you're not into that, it's not for you. But if you chase reduction like Jody Foster chased hurricanes in Twister, then you're in for a treat. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. -96pts, Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate