I like to think I’m more mindful than I used to be. Call it a positive influence from my yoga teaching wife. I rarely sip or drink wine without stopping to think about it. Certainly writing and being more involved with the wine industry assists, but I’m rarely now one for simply downing a glass without thinking. I liken it to one of lecturers at the Conservatorium of Music who was one of the most incredible musicians I’d ever known. I asked him what music he liked to simply listen to: how did he come away from something that he simply had to only hear a bar of to completely deconstruct all components: melody, harmony, tempo, rhythm, dynamics, intonation timbre, form, key, pitch and phrasing? He looked at me and in his base Irish, Hungarian educated, Australian assimilated lilt simply replied: “Bjork.”

TarraWarra Estate, South Block, Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, 2015

Smoky and briny: almost a smoked mussel or chicken muscularity to the oak and whole bunch press influence. Brown spice sprinkled over ripe stone fruit. On the tongue: Juicy, juicy bittersweet fruit like the tart pineapple core and a distinct saline dryness. A quicksilver wine: wet and dry at once. Rock salt and passionfruit pips. Encapsulating the fine balance of the 2015 vintage, this has just enough x factor to allow it stand out from the crowd.

RRP: $35
Alc: 12.5%

Wine sample courtesy of TarraWarra Estate