Carlei Green Vineyards Cuvée Stephen Thomson Chardonnay 2018

Less of the Yarra Valley’s pristine and pure chardonnay fruit – although there are hints of it – and more of a wild, spice-infused trip mixing ripeness of fruit with some equally generous oak treatment. Bottle age is also starting to make itself known. This is not a shy wine by any imagining. Take some time to breathe in aromas laced in nectarine, peach, citrus, fig, lanolin and toast. Quite autumnal: less sunny and bright and more laid back and reflective. The role of acidity is there as a tangy adjunct, underlying the layers of fruit, bottle-developed fig and honey and warm oaky toastiness. And spice, there’s spice aplenty in tarragon and thyme.