Caledonia Australis Chardonnay 2023
2023 brought a cooler, wetter spring, continuing the La Niña influence that had dominated the previous two seasons. Frequent rainfall and high humidity through November and early December made for a relentless challenge with downy mildew, with secondary powdery outbreaks requiring careful management into the new year. January remained mild, and without any significant heat spikes, disease pressure persisted longer than usual. A welcome run of dry, breezy days in mid-February finally turned the tide, though yields were already impacted from the battle. A typical South Gippsland La Nina tussle.
March brought intermittent showers, and ripening was slow but steady. Chardonnay was down in volume, with small bunches and slightly higher acidity, producing wines with a leaner profile—lime, white peach, and subtle flint. Pinot noir was variable across sites, with lighter colour and more herbal aromatics, but fine tannins and red berry detail. Overall, the 2023 was a cooler and wet season —defined by finesse rather than power.
Colour
Bright, light yellow gold
Nose
The nose opens with subtle and complex aromas of grilled nuts, bread-crust, and ripe stone fruit. As the wine takes on air a broader spectrum reveals with green mango and floral notes dazzling.
Palate
The palate shows lots of power and fruit weight intertwined with a fresh grapey acidity that takes time to emerge from the mass of fruit and creamy lees character. The wine opens up over two or three nights drinking but can also be decanted.
Our winemaking varies only subtly from year to year with fermentation and MLF always allowed to proceed naturally. The fruit for this wine was harvested in two batches with the target of optimum richness for an acceptable level of acidity. 2023 had subtle botrytis influence and full ripeness. After pressing and light settling the cloudy juice was racked to old barrels and concrete cuves for fermentation with inoculation taking place via a pied cuve selected from a series of buckets that began fermentation the previous day.
After fermentation the wine was left on full lees unsulfured till late the following spring. Most barrels began spontaneous malo-lactic fermentation. After a 20 month elevage, the wine was then lightly sulphured, racked, stabilized and bottled.
$240.00
Price per 6 pack
from the fertile soils of Leongatha, Gippsland Australia
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