Holyman Chardonnay 2010 (Tasmania)
$45, Screwcap, 13.5%
Source: Sample
www.stoneyrise.com

‘We are so proud of these wines we put our own name to them! All of the fruit is estate grown, which for our Chardonnay it means not a lot. The block is at the top of the vineyard, so it is the first thing I see when I walk out of the house to go to work every day.’

That’s laconic Stoney Rise/Holyman winemaker Joe Holyman at his best.

His wines are much more serious though. The philosophy for this Holyman Chardonnay is actualyl quite simple (in theory) with the stated aim to produce a Chardonnay that balances both acidity and flavour. Interestingly, Joe uses 100% new oak for this wine, yet the oak is bigger and the wine only spends 9 months (on full solids) in said barrels. I’m intrigued to see how it all balances out, for it works nicely.

You can smell the solids through the nose actually, all gumballs and leesy funk. At first I thought that winemaking was dominating things, but as the wine got warmer the fruit stepped up, filling out the wine behind the winemaking. It’s still a fine, utterly cool climate and restrained wine that is mealy and funky but so very driven by acidity. I think I’d like to see less obvious oak, but I’m nitpicking on what is a wonderfully clever, finely textured modern Chardonnay, a wine to remind you of the crystalline delicacy of modern Tassie Chardonnay whilst you finish the bottle. Or at least I did.

Drink: 2013-2019
Score: 18.5/20 94/100
Would I buy it? Yes