Description
“Wine royalty” is a phrase that often appears alongside the Farr name. It’s a name that elicits great respect and admiration. Decanter Magazine, April 2024
By Farr Wines is a distinguished family-owned winery nestled in the cool-climate Moorabool Valley of Geelong, Victoria. Established in 1994 by Gary and Robyn Farr, the estate has become renowned for producing some of Australia’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.
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. I regard 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.
Today, the winery is led by Gary’s son, Nick Farr, who continues the family’s legacy with a focus on minimal intervention winemaking. This approach allows the grapes to express their full potential, resulting in wines that are true reflections of the land and the season.
By Farr Wines’ commitment to quality and tradition has solidified its reputation as a pre-eminent winery in the Geelong region, producing wines that marry heritage with innovation.
About this wine: 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 2025 from the By Farr Team: “The nose is lovely, welcoming, it offers notes of ripe fruit, the smells in the glass are so evocative, this has all the elements that make you want to drink it. The palate, sleek but generous. Whenever I write a note like that I’m aware that it’s weird. What is sleek but generous? I mean that it is balanced. The weight of the wine is in the goldilocks zone, there are no angles that aren’t aligned, it feels smooth, chiselled and in proportion. The generosity of it comes from the intensity of the flavour. Sleek can be perceived as diminutive, but this wine is not that. It’s powerful, streamlined and draws your attention. As always, to talk just of fruit is too simple. This wine tastes of soil, flint, river pebbles, things yo u don’t immediately think to put in your mouth, but it’s the smell of them that triggers the recognition. This Chardonnay is complex, layered and thrilling. Find oysters to eat while you drink it, find a sea breeze and a view. Find a friend to sit next to, or drink it thinking of them.”
Brand new release!
Review for 2024 – 95 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “Yes there’s intensity of flavour, texture, complexity and length. But there’s more; there’s a distinctiveness, and that’s what sets this wine aspart. Wheat, pears, white peach, woodsmoke, grapefruit, a gentle note of brine and a miso note. It’s creamy and juicy at once but never overtly one or the other. This wine just is. It pushes flavour right up to the point of elegance and then lets elegance take over from there. This is tip-top chardonnay. In my version of heaven this wine would be the house white.”
RRP $125 Our Special Price $110 – LIMITED STOCK!
