MCHENRY HOHNEN Hazel's Vineyard Chardonnay, Margaret River

The vineyard stamps its character on this from the get-go. Notes of lemon scents with lightly roasted cashew and faint struck match. The palate is intense and with a fine acidity and minerally character defining it through its linear range. Beautifully integrated and tightly coiled before releasing through to a sustained finish. A wine that will really show its true worth in another few years. 

Oakridge 864

From the Funder and Diamond vineyard, planted in Wandin East with the P58 clone in 1990. Hand picked and whole-bunch pressed to French puncheons (20% new) for fermentation and 10 months' maturation before another six months in tank. A bright, pale green gold. Another truly great, albeit restrained release, with piercing aromas of white nectarines, nashi, pink grapefruit, white flowers and crushed stone. Simultaneously concentrated and elegant, the pure, mineral-inflected and chalky palate is painfully long. Still just a baby, this might just be the best and possibly the most long-lived Oakridge 864 Chardonnay yet. Another feather in the cap for David Bicknell, the Australian chardonnay maestro. 

Phillip Rich