Description
Gary Farr is one of Australia’s Pinot pioneers and knows more about Pinot than anyone! He began at Bannockburn wines in the 80’s and with his son Nick (combined) they have done 20 vintages at Domaine Dujac in Morey-St-Denis in Burgundy. Their vineyard (planted in 1994) is located at Bannockburn (near Geelong) and planted on volcanic soils over limestone. Their winemaking influence is very Burgundian (natural yeast, whole bunch fermentation and long maceration for the reds) to produce wines that reflect their terroir with pure primary fruit characters and savoury depth, structure and longevity. Their Pinots and Chardonnay as up there with the best in land. …Their wines are rated in the Top Ten wines in their categories every year in James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion.
The By Farr chardonnay comes from the same site as the Sangreal pinot noir—composed of red soil over limestone—and was planted in 1994. The limestone of this site is not exposed on the surface as at other sites. The limestone starts 20 to 30cm below the surface, to the depths of the root zone of the vines. It is a very exposed north-facing slope. The clones used for the chardonnay are a mixture of Dijon clones and Penfolds 58.
The fruit is hand-picked then whole-bunch pressed in the winery. All the solids are collected and chilled before being put to barrel, which are 30 per cent new French oak. A natural fermentation will occur at cool temperatures over the next one to two months, and then a small amount of stirring helps start malolactic fermentation. The wine is then racked, fined and lightly filtered before bottling 11 months after picking. A very mineral site for chardonnay.
About the 2022 vintage from winemaker, Nick Farr “The 2022 vintage was dictated by the third consecutive wet Winter into Spring. With high hopes of an average or greater fruit load due to slightly warmer soils leading up to bud burst, then flowering we hoped to take advantage of the ample moisture in the soil. The storms and humidity don’t ease until late January but the team was able to keep the canopies open and the fruit healthy until the disease pressure eased. The season turned come February and the berries developed significant colour and depth of flavour by March.
“We started picking a little Pinot and Chardonnay’s mid to late March and took full advantage of the long and mild season that has resulted in layered and great site expressions regardless of variety. All in all, the crop level was of the norm, average tonnages and the fruit extremely healthy. Credit to the team once again as the ferments where very expressive and show the potential to have come to expect of a season with a drying and cool evenings end. The whites have tension while lush in fruit characteristics. While the reds are building in complexity with every month they are left in barrel.“
“River pebbles, struck match, stone fruit, spice, citrus. All that just from the first sniff. The skill to have so much on offer in a glass, yet keep the palate under such tension is really something. The ‘22 By Farr Chardonnay just gives and gives, from flavour to texture through to the finish. It’s long and incredibly fine but also has a softness to it. Perhaps some malo, perhaps some lees work. The wood is like a bass note to a melody and gives the wine an unassuming gravitas and rounds out what is an exemplary and beautifully balanced Chardonnay.”
97 points, Campbell Mattinson for Halliday Wine Companion “We get richness of fruit and oak, we get a chalk-like element, we get river stones, and we get crushes of grapefruit pulp and nectarine. In short, it’s gorgeousness in a glass. It has power, finesse, length and all the things we desire in wine.”
RRP $114 Our Special Price $99.99 – LAST of this vintage!