The Hoddles Creek Estate 2023 Yarra Valley Chardonnay displays citrus and stone fruit on the nose, with a rounded palate, good length and acidity, a light touch of new oak adds complexity.
"#1 - The best-value premium chardonnay on the market at the moment. Citrus, stone fruit, great acid. A steal at this price." Katie Spain - goodfood.com.au
“Spring frosts and terrible flowering resulted in the lowest yield on record. Will be long-lived” says Franco D’Anna.
“Gee, this is an intense iteration of HCE Chardonnay! Very concentrated. Melon, lime, spice and aniseed, almond too. The texture is very flinty and firm, the acidity is mouth-watering and offers plenty of zip, and there’s some nutty umami flavours in the mix too. Length is excellent. Preserved lemon and green olive in the aftertaste. It’s perhaps a little less ‘user-friendly’ as a young wine than is usual, but wow, it’s quite something.”
94+ Points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, April 2024, Drink: 2024 - 2034+
All fruit is hand-picked in the morning and immediately de-stemmed and lightly crushed into the press. No enzymes are used; instead the juice is allowed to settle naturally. In 2023, there were approximately fifteen different ferments, these were allowed to start naturally on full solids. After a select period of time, some of the juice was inoculated with cultured yeast then transferred to wood for fermentation. The wine is then left on lees for approximately 11 months. Just before bottling all clones are blended, cold stabilised, fined and filtered.
