2023 Luke Lambert Chardonnay

Place: Yarra Valley, VIC

Variety: Chardonnay

Farming: Sustainable

Lambert’s Yarra Valley Chardonnay has traditionally been sourced from the windy, east-facing slope of the Tibooburra vineyard, a site where the poor volcanic soils (with seams of yellow clay and eroded granite) offer up the low yields and intensely flavoured berries that are sine qua non to Lambert’s minimal-intervention style. “The volcanic soils of the Tibooburra Vineyard are most evident here”, notes Luke, adding that, “because of the elevation of the Tibooburra vineyard and the aspect, the wines hold their acid structure and elegance and sail through the hotter years.”

It’s a super release for this wine but undoubtedly more generous than in the past (and all the better for it). There are waves of generous Chardonnay fruit with ripe nectarine and creamy, lees-induced texture and then crystalline, pithy, citrus notes to close along with a hint of classy oak. It’s a wonderfully polished Chardonnay from an Australian master.