2022 By Farr Chardonnay

Gary Farr has been making wine in Moorabool Valley near Bannockburn, about an hour's drive from Melbourne, since 1978. Before working in Australia, he traveled the world and learned the trade at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, Cristom in Oregon and Calera in California. Not surprisingly, he fell under the spell of pinot noir here and took it back to Australia - not without a fight. By Farr also produces premium chardonnay and have planted shiraz and viognier. Today the business has been taken over by the next generation, Nick Farr, although Gary still keeps an eye on things. Winery By Farr has an area of 130 hectares, of which 36 hectares are planted with vines.

Victoria is the wine region in the southeast of Australia and one of the few cool climate zones in the country. Victoria has a predominantly cool to temperate climate. The proximity to the ocean, the height differences and the exposure of the vineyard play a major role. If we lump all sub-areas together, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the two specialties. They are produced in all styles. Pinot noir varies from delicate to more structured, but the common denominator is the pure fruit character. Chardonnay ranges from full and concentrated from Geelong to light and fresh from Mornington Peninsula.

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 visible on the surface as in other locations. The limestone starts 8 to 12 inches below the surface, down to the depths of the vine's root zone. It is a very exposed north facing slope. The clones used for the chardonnay are a mixture of Dijon clones and Penfolds 58. The grape bunches are picked by hand very selectively at optimal ripeness. In the vinification cellar, the whole bunches are pressed very carefully and the juice is left to rest in a cool place to allow the coarser components to settle. The clean juice is then transferred to French oak barriques (30% new) to undergo spontaneous alcoholic fermentation with wild (grape's own) yeasts in just over a month. The young wine is then transferred to clean barriques for malolactic fermentation and an aging period on the lees. About 11 months after the harvest, the wine is assembled, clarified, possibly lightly filtered and bottled. In the glass the By Farr is bright straw yellow in color. The nose has aromas of grapefruit, papaya, pineapple, roasted almonds, popcorn and some flint. The taste palette shows notes of lime peel, nectarines, tropical fruit and brioche, which are accompanied by a long mineral aftertaste with delicately fresh acidity.