What a magnificent wine! A pioneer in the modern Australian Chardonnay stakes, the Vat 47 from the Hunter Valley has a silky bouquet of melon stone fruit and creamy oak that is followed by a palate of extraordinary balance and length. An absolute classic and will only get better with some medium term ageing.

'Wow Tangy mixed citrus peel and complex white stonefruit smelling; subtle flintiness and icy cold quartz. Amazing the mouth too: intense, long, edgy and mouth-sucking. So complex and charged with energy that descriptors elude.' (2012 Vintage) - 97/100. - Australian Financial Review, 29 Aug 2014.

The Beechworth terroir has a distinctive fruit character of pear/peach fruit. The oak has minimal impact by using older French oak and mainly puncheons. The warm year has meant less citrus lift but has bran meal notes from the wild ferment and extended lees contact. The palate is quite rich with zesty acid line through to the finish. Drinking well now but will improve with further bottle age. Maybe leave the 2012 and 2013 for a couple more years and enjoy this in its place. Enjoy with Seafood to light meats.