Patrick Underwood 2023 Leanganook Chardonnay 'Dash Farms'

"Aromas of fine new and still integrating oak unfurl alongside citrus blossom, makrut lime leaves, and bright white and green, yet never malic, orchard fruit; there is a suggestion of creme patisserie with baked pear. An overarching sense of olfactory energy is present, an interplay between the fresh, green and bright fruit, and the richer wine-making elements; this wine practically sparkles. Aeration brings vanillin wafers, Conference pear, a faint note of crushed shells and estuarine, oystery touches ... despite Leanganook being at least 150kms from the sea. Lingering in the background is a slightly and pleasingly bitter note of same pear skin, crushed citrus leaf and spring herbs, and Meyer lemon pith. The more this wine takes the air, the tighter and fresher it appears: the citrus leaf notes gaining edge, the blossom characteristics as if only just unfurling, the piths all the more bitter.

The palate is brilliantly fresh, almost bracingly so, with a long line of acidity that seems to take on amplitude; this wine possesses a multifaceted acid profile. It is as if a line takes on the form of a wave, spreading to saturate the palate with its attack; chiselled phenolics and broken shell minerality follow. Curry leaf, tangy mandarin and lime, youthful pear, and vanillin wafers with pistachio nougat. The finish is long and mineral, pulled together by the coalescing of the above mentioned wave. Mouth watering notes of crushed shell and small stones, herbs (including bay and thyme), lime leaf, and complex non-oak spices repeat. The shape, presence, and precision here is utterly singular in Australian Chardonnay. Very fine." — David