No new oak used in the making of this wine, only 1st and 2nd use (2 and 3 years old) barrels so as to not dominate the fruit, but support it. Label and naming is winemaker Franco D’Anna’s nod to Burgundy.

Hoddles Creek Estate, 1er Yarra Valley, Chardonnay, 2017

The inevitable complexity shows from the first sniff: lime, lemon, salt bush, balsa wood, melon rind, light caramel and ‘struck match’ flint sulfides. Depth and persistence are signatures and Franco has writ large. Powerful fruit, well supported (but not overpowered) by the older oak regime which finishes tight as a drum, angled beautifully with crystalline edging.  Superb.

RRP:  $50
Alc: 13.2%
Rating: 19/20

Wine sample courtesy of Hoddles Creek Estate