Munda Wadandi Country Chardonnay 2023 

Fruit from Wallcliffe.  Hand harvested and barrel fermented, combination of new and seasoned French oak barriques. Matured for 9 months on lees in barrel. Pretty, delicate and creamy on the nose, this is a mild-mannered and welcoming Margaret River (Wadandi Boodja) Chardonnay.  Lemon curd, a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon, vanilla bean pastry shell and just a whiff of dried herbaceousness, wrapped gently in some nice toasty oak. These same characteristics spill onto the palate, where the poppy acidity and fruit concentration ramp the energy of this wine up a notch, lemon zest intensifying from the creamy curd notes, and the toasty oak threatening to overpower but stopping just short of it.  There’s lots to love here, though the wine is a little bulky mid-palate and the tangy acid a little too excited.