Review: Bird on a Wire Chardonnay 2017

Caroline Mooney’s latest Bird on a Wire Chardonnay 2017 is a masterful wine. Sourced from the Willowlake vineyard, it’s whole bunch pressed, wild fermented and 30% of the blend goes through malo.

There’s a detail here that is so welcome, with vanilla and lemon butter oak and fruit, the palate quickly descends into taut acidity that bounces off the riper fruit. Clever wine. It retains the fuller, richer soul of Yarra Chard with a golden creamy nutty middle but a taut finish. That acidity is maybe a little too grainy, but it shapes this nicely – a push/pull wine that ultimately satisfies with its complexity.

Best drinking: now to five years as a start. 18.5/20, 94/100. 13.1%, $45. Would I buy it? Well worth a few glasses. I’d drink the bottle actually.