Murdoch Hill Chardonnay 2023

Description

Murdoch Hill vineyard is in the undulating hills of Oakbank in the Adelaide Hills. Planted by the Downer family in ’98 but the excitement began in 2012 when Michael (family’s youngest) took over the reins after working at esteemed wineries: Vietti in Piedmont; Bests in Great Western (initiated his Pinot Meunier fascination) & Shaw & Smith. He brought winemaking in house to have absolute control (previously outsourced to neighbouring winery) and adopted minimal intervention including wild yeasts, whole bunch ferments, extended skin contact, older wood maturation, no fining, filtration and minimal sulphur. He introduced the Artisan range of single parcel high altitude offerings sourcing fruit from vines in Lobethal, Basket Range and Uraidla high in the Piccadilly Valley …. juicy, vibrant wines that highlight the detail and freshness of each site.

Downer was a Young Guns of Wine finalist in 2014, joint winner of the ‘Winemaker’s Choice’ in 2015, finalist again in 2016 and winner in 2017!  In the same year he was awarded Young Winemaker of the Year by Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine!  Very compelling getting vote of approval from his peers!

“Murdoch Hill is a serious ultra-quality player in Australian wine. Take note.” Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wineries 2023

“Michael really knows what he’s doing both in the cellar and in the vineyard. He has proven his credentials over and over again…” Halliday Wine Companion, Winemaker of the Year Finalists 2024

Few do Chardonnay better than Michael Downer, and this is another cracker. The lion’s share of the fruit for this year’s Chardonnay comes from Murdoch Hill’s estate vineyards: the home vineyard in Oakbank and the newly acquired 8.5 hectares of vines in Lenswood. The balance is grown on sites Michael Downer has worked with for years in Lobethal and the Piccadilly Valley. All the sites share some common traits: high elevation, sustainable farming practices, and vines that are over 20 years old.

The top block on the Oakbank property, sitting at a lofty 420 metres, is home to Bernard clone vines and forms the backbone of this year’s blend at 50%. The Lenswood site, at 30%, brings an open and generous fruit profile, providing a lovely contrast to the more linear and tight nature of the high-altitude Piccadilly and Lobethal material that rounds out the blend.

The cool, mild conditions in 2023 meant the fruit was handpicked about two weeks later than the 10-year average. The Oakbank portion was destemmed while the rest of the fruit was pressed as whole bunches. Wild barrel ferments and maturation occurred in puncheons and barriques for 10 months (about 20% new). To “build the back end” of the wine, Downer let a portion of the wine go through malolactic conversion while all parcels rested on gross lees and some barrels were stirred. He tells us he aimed to make “a salivating, delicious and mineral Chardonnay with great tension and acidity”.

New vintage .. review for 2022 – 94 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front “Wow kinda chardy. Tightly wound but with juiciness. Almost on medium weight. Skittish acidity keeping things fresh, saline, briny, flinty notes gently there, a lot of lovely cashew and almond savouriness and then you notice, green apple, tart lime, anise. It’s crystalline and bright. It’s structured and finishes long. Delicious.”

RRP $40  Our Special Price $30.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.