Murdoch Hill 'Tilbury' Chardonnay 2018

“Hello again, Murdoch Hill. One of the most consistently good wine producers coming out of South Australia, with a raft of interesting wines, side by side with more ‘classic’ renditions, and all typically well priced.” Mike Bennie, The Wine Front

Fruit was drawn predominately from a vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley, with the remainder sourced from mature vines in Lobethal and Kenton Valley. All the vineyards sit between 450-550 metres, and are planted to a wide range of clones, including Bernard, C76, C95, C96 and Mendoza. All the fruit is hand-harvested, de-stemmed and pressed into older French oak, including foudre, for natural fermentation. To balance the intense freshness of this high-grown fruit, Downer has allowed part of the blend to finish its malolactic fermentation and he has also played with a little lees stirring.

“From the Piccadilly Valley and Lobethal, hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, wild-fermented in three different vessels, partial mlf, 9 months maturation. Is fleshy, hovering on the edge of too much so. Certainly fills the mouth with stone fruit, oak in dutiful support.” 95 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion Awards