Pale golden straw with a lime reflection and a focused nose constructed of lemon blossom, Gardenia, Jasmine, Honeysuckles, sweetened lemon, passionfruit pith, tangelo, asparagus and grilled nectarine. Background notes of green hazelnut, dried mandarin peel and hints of vanilla show its oak. Lovely nose!
In the mouth it is extremely smooth and velvety, rolling with an intensity and immediacy about it. Rich flavours of white and yellow peach, nectarine, slightly bitter grapefruit, candied lemon and moments of lemongrass flood the palate within a wash of Chantilly and bruleé overtones – I can’t help but feel the fruit is missing some natural fight and tension about it to take it to the next level – The acidity works well against the sweet juice, surging after the midpalate with a gentle sourness of green apple and leads to a tail that drifts with lime and kaffir. Yum!

I adore receiving wines from Moss Wood to write about, not only because their wines typify excellence within Australia, but because the Moss Wood family are special indeed. Every bottle is much more than the varietal stated on the label and the years of experience and intense care taken with each release shows in the wines time after time. This latest release is a great example of that and from a dire vintage comes this lovely and nuanced Margaret River Chardonnay. Not perfect, but bloody close and truly upholding the Moss Wood mark of excellence. Give it a bit of time and serve cool.

Published Nov 1st, 2020