Nerd alert: Mendoza and P58 clonal selection, whole bunch pressed, French oak fermentation. Esoteric factor on the label is high! Classy packaging. Winemakers are Pete Dillon and Jonathon Mattick, with Andrew Butler the rockstar viticulturist.

Handpicked Wines, Capella Vineyard, Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, 2016

Still a baby. Complex and intertwining aromas: Ripe white stone fruit and some richer tropical hints balanced by quartzy rocky minerality. Struck match phenolics and barrel work characters, ably supported by the nuanced French oak imparting a savoury quality with white chocolate creaminess. Vibrant and deeply etched. There’s a plushness, a creaminess through the mid palate that feels like sinking deep into a cloud before natural constraint and a tightening of the crystalline acidity lines, impelling a long fine juicy tail.
While later vintages have taken more laurels, this is still an affirmation of the vineyard and winemaking.

RRP: $59.99
Alc: 13%
Rating:  19/20

Wine purchased at cellar door.