I love this wine. It typifies what is happening with high-end Aussie Chardonnay at the moment – the embrace of elegance and freshness over weight and richness – picking earlier and producing complex, taut wines.
Oakridge Local Vineyard Series Lusatia Park Vineyard Chardonnay 2011 Yarra Valley, Australia
From a north-facing vineyard with red volcanic soils. This was a cool vintage, and the grapes were hand picked and whole-bunch pressed to 500 litre French oak puncheons for fermentation with natural yeasts. 10 months on lees. Precise, mineral and taut with a matchstick edge to the nose. Citrussy and pure in a fresh, restrained style. The palate is tight, mineral and reductive with lovely precision and notes of grapefruit and citrus pith. Chablis-like in terms of weight and acidity. Thought provoking and so un-Aussie. 93/100
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2 Comments on Oakridge Lusatia Park Chardonnay 2011
Increasingly I see this precise, elegant and focussed style as Aussie. Granted, not all producers are of the calibre as David Bicknell, yet there are a fair number in the Yarra and Mornington who are doing it well – without just chasing a style.
“Thought provoking and so un-Aussie.” Interesting how prejudices shine in seemingly innocent phrases.