Garagiste Merricks Chardonnay 2022

Garagiste Merricks Chardonnay is a Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay from vines in their mid-twenties on grey loam and red ferrosol.

South and south-east facing slopes are an unusual choice for Chardonnay in a place as cool and maritime as Mornington, and they explain much of the tension in this wine. The vines, 26 years old at harvest, sit on grey loams over red ferrosol, and the aspect keeps ripening slow and even. Hand-picked, hand-sorted fruit went to the press as whole bunches, then fermented on wild yeast with plenty of solids in François Frères puncheons of 500 litres, 20 per cent of them new. Part of the batch completed malolactic conversion, and nine months on full gross lees followed, undisturbed by stirring.

Citrus and nectarine with a chalky, oyster-shell undertow and a little smoke off the solids. Fleshy in the middle, taut at the edges, long on the close. Serve at 11 to 12 degrees with roast pork, prawn tempura or a whole flounder.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.