Collector Tiger Tiger Chardonnay 2019

This is a wine I’ve loved over previous vintages so I was pretty excited to try the 2019 vintage. Chardonnay from Tumbarumba is arguably some of the most highly sought after in the state. Typified by a lean grapefruit backbone, it’s often the base of fine elegant styles with a distinctive crisp line of acidity.

In 2001 I worked alongside Collector Winemaker Alex McKay at the now defunct Hardy’s Kamberra Winery. The Chardonnay fruit we received from the Tumbarumba growers (usually at crazy hours of the morning) was absolutely pristine. So green and crunchy, it was almost fluorescent. Juicy, natural acidity was the hallmark, but fruit flavours in the lemon, grapefruit spectrum were also in the mix.

The 2019 Tiger Tiger has plenty of the aforementioned traits, classic Tumbarumba, but there’s also some deft winemaking here too; creamy textured elements with a delicious lick of well judged oak. This is a delicious Chardonnay of the highest quality but also needs some time, Alex does not build wine to please the impatient crowd. I really felt as though I should have been leaving the cap on this wine for a few more years yet.