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Oakridge Wines Vineyard Series Willowlake Chardonnay, Yarra Valley The wines from the Willowlake Vineyard provide a fascinating contrast to those from the Henk Vineyard. First planted in 1992, the vineyard is located near Gladysdale and boasts red volcanic soils and an elevation of 170 metres. Like every wine in the Vineyard Series, minimal intervention in the winery is the name of the game. After hand harvesting, whole bunches are included in the fermentation which takes place in 500 litre French oak puncheons. After nine months maturation on yeast lees, the resulting wine serves up complex characters of citrus, nectarine, fresh dough and gun flint. In a word, its sublime.

Toolangi is a state forest just outside Healesville that was devastated during Black Saturday. The excellent vineyards remain, and continue to produce wines of personality and place. The Chardonnay combines varietal characters of quince and crab apple with some delicious nutty oak nuances. Its great value.

Coldstream Hills has been consistently producing excellent Yarra Valley Chardonnay for years and if anything it keeps getting better. Stone fruit and grapefruit characters are supported by creamy nutty oak.

Yering Station's Yarra Chardonnay displays citrus and subtle cashew notes on the nose with soft minerality and freshness. The palate has great texture and roundness with linear acidity with wonderful length and precision.

The Ten Minutes by Tractor Chardonnay's have become very well known by Chardonnay lovers across the country and from beyond our shores. This 10X Chardonnay is a blend of non-estate Mornington Peninsula vineyards and is a wonderful example of the current trend in Australian Chardonnay having both structure and body. Great value.

The Yarra Valley is one of the heavyweight regions for Australian Chardonnay, with finesse and length of flavour the hallmarks of the regional style. In the glass: Pale lemon green. On the nose: Apple, grapefruit, oatmeal and almond aromas. On the palate: Fine, elegant and poised yet with power and drive and a delicious core of white and yellow fruits. A savoury, almost salty layer adds complexity, velvety texture and racy acidity.

Brilliant straw colour with a hint of green around the edges and watery hue. Intermeshed aromas of cashew, delicate white peach, biscuity oak, light toast and spice. Elegant with light to medium weight and excellent rounded creamy like textural qualities the palate possesses flavours of delicate white peach, cashew, nougat and spicy biscuity oak. Clean dry finish. Aftertaste of white peach, cashew and lightly toasted biscuity oak. Ageing: Drink over the next year. Food: Chinese steamed chicken.

This Chardonnay has opposing elements of minerality and creaminess make this an outstanding, complex wine. The aromas and flavours of lemon pith, chamomile, just ripe nectarine and apricot are underlain by fine grained, smoky oak.The grapes were whole bunch pressed and the free run and pressings separated for fermentation. After chilling, 50% of the unsettled juice was placed in 500 litre puncheons and 228 litre barriques for fermentation. At the end of fermentation, the wine was left on yeast lees for 8 months. The lees were stirred weekly. The remaining juice was fermented in tank to retain the fresh aromas and flavours of the variety. This wine also remained on yeast lees for an extended period of time. The restraint on this wine suggests it will continue to age and improve in bottle. While waiting for the magic to happen, enjoy the wine now with a classic freshly shucked oysters with a dot of green apple granita.