By Farr Viognier 2025

Am I changing, or is it something else? I feel drawn to the Viognier. I know the story is all Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at By Farr, but my word, if this wine isn't consistently pure joy and vinous perfection. Viognier has a gift to blow out, become rich and a little overbearing, but here, in Bannockburn, a place familiar with sunlight, where Viognier's gift could easily shine, they hold the reins tightly. A thoroughbred, poised, rippling and ready to excite. (I know how weird that sounds, just bare with me)

So what does that mean exactly? In my head, it means I can tell the wine is made from the Viognier grape, but it's refreshing enough for me to want to drink more without it being too rich or cloying. The tasting note would read something like this. A note of apricot, not jam, but fresh and ripe off the tree, still warm from the last rays of the sun. I think if you can feel on your skin, a memory of what a wine smells like, it's already done its job. At least for me it has. A stony, crunchy acidity, that tastes like white pebbles being rubbed together in your hands in a dry river bed, feels like. Can you hear it?  Can you feel it too? 

The texture of the wine fits easily into the framework of modern Australian Chardonnay, but those exotic fruit notes set it apart. For those of you who have the luxury of cellaring wine, or more importantly, have greater self control than I do, a couple of years in the cellar will bring back even more memories. Ben Knight, Critic.