Gaffy & Neal Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2021

Gaffy & Neal is a new project between Doug Neal of Altera Terra and Darrin Gaffy of Principia Wines on the Mornington Peninsula. The aim is to produce “flavoursome” chardonnay using fruit from two vineyards in the Merricks North area of the Peninsula. The result is a wine that delivers cool climate Peninsula charm with a world of flavour and class. It also features some parcels of one of the winemaker’s favourite chardonnay clones – P58 – one that he has become particularly enamoured with after working at the iconic Victorian producer, Giaconda. Rolls out plenty of sunny fruit to start – peach, nectarine, citrus and pear skin – before entering into layers of grilled nuts, nougat, spice and nutty, toasted oak. Flavour rules here together with texture as it works toward a long, long finish.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic