Dalwhinnie ‘Moonambel’ Chardonnay 2023

95 POINTS - Toni Paterson, Halliday Wine Companion
"Individual in character, with a cascade of bright stone fruits, melon and grapefruit, with oak playing a prominent role, finishing with a peacock’s tail of intense sweet-fruit flavours. The wine has great energy and uplift, but also depth, breadth and texture. Sugared almond and sulphide nuances add complexity. Heady, assertive and delicious."

The 2023 season saw a continuation of cooler weather, with welcome rainfall before the growing season, encouraging healthy vine growth. The cooler vintage temperatures produced fruit with vibrant natural acidity and refined, delicate characteristics.

The fruit was hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed. The cloudy juice was then transferred directly to a mixture of new, one- and two-year-old French oak puncheons (500-litre) and barriques (228-litre). Fermentation occurred spontaneously with wild yeasts over the following three weeks. After fermentation, the barrels were topped, and the wine matured in situ for a further nine months before careful barrel selection and bottling.

Beautiful light straw in colour with flashes of green. The ever-elusive struck-match character and attractive vanilla spice join aromas of oatmeal, peach and honey. The palate is intensely focused, with powerful, well-defined acidity that highlights the mealy, tropical-fruit characters. Subtle Burgundian oak plays a supporting role to the wine’s intense savoury and mineral flavours. – Julian Langworthy, Dalwhinnie