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. 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.
Nick Farr was named 2021 Gourmet Traveller ‘Winemaker of the Year’ & 2022 Real Review ‘Winery of the Year’.
“The GC Chardonnay (GC – Gary Charles) is attributed to all the knowledge we have been able to extract from Gary to create a close planted/high density planting of chardonnay on a exposed cote. These hillsides facing North, North East and East will be the backbone of the Farr dynasty for decades to come. They consist of the most suitable clones, rootstocks, trellising and management you will find for our landscape. This is our tribute to what ‘Gazza’ has achieved and provoked over 40 years not only in our region but for chardonnay and pinot noir of Australia.
“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 35 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.
“The North côte is a red to brown loam with buckshot stones across the surface. The most exposed of the three côtes, the North côte is harvested last of all because of the large amount of clay, holding valuable moisture for a much longer time than the other slopes.
“The East côte is divided through the centre of the slope by a rise. Black volcanic soil with fragmented limestone in one direction and grey loam with buckshot stones in the other direction. Soil is King as the East côte has the least amount of clay and therefore least water-holding capacity resulting in it being harvested first even though it is the coolest côte of the three.’
“Named after living By Farr patriarch, Gary Charles (GC) Farr. The GC has elegance and finesse, it’s not brittle, but offers greater precision and detail. White florals, citrus, nectarine, stones. The colour is just a notch deeper, the wine shows greater richness, greater density. Such a polished Chardonnay, utterly seamless, thrilling.” Nick Farr
This 2021 is remarkable chardonnay.
97 points, Stuart Knox (The Real Review) “Pale lemon in the glass with a fragrant bouquet of lemon curd, white flowers, and hints of roasting hazelnuts. The power and intensity of the palate is what stops you in your tracks here, it builds and builds to a crescendo of ripe peach, grapefruit pith and smoky nut characters, all the while being deftly lifted and carried by a persistent acidity and the subtlest hint of phenolics. Prodigious length and keeps its power right to the end.”
Review of 2017 vintage… 98 points, Ned Goodwin for Halliday’s 2020 Australian Wine Companion “Among the finest chardonnays in this country, this is as sleek and polished as it texturally compelling, purring across a saline lick of phenolics, praline and slick oak handling. Yet it is the wine’s sheer effortlessness: dense and intense of flavour on one hand; stealth and an uncanny cool, on the other; creeping to an apogee of complexity with every sip. A meld of synergistic sites, rootstock, clone, vineyard management and a deft, soothing hand in the winery. Class.”
**Our price $164.99** LAST STOCKS
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