(2021) From 25-year-old vineyards of Gingin clone Chardonnay, this is whole-bunch pressed into larger French oak barrels and fermented with wild yeasts. It was fermented and aged nine months, with 40% of the barrels new. The inclusion of 'solids', the various compounds from the grape matter of the whole bunches, immediately gives this a lot more flintiness, toast and notes of seeds and herbs, with fine orchard fruit coming through. On the palate the drive of the pithy lemon and grapefruit is mouth-watering, a real energising blast that cuts through the peachier mid-palate. The oak diffuses the effect of the saline and citrus acidity very nicely in the finish, in a wine that is a bit of show-stopper, and packed with personality.