SOUMAH Upper Ngumby Chardonnay 2024

The Upper Ngumby vineyard, west of Yarra Glen, offers a contrasting brighter, more citrus-defined expression of Chardonnay which highlights, as if it was needed, the great individuality of exceptional single vineyards. Planted to five clones, it is high in super fine aromatics of lemon citrus, grapefruit, apple and the lightest of spices. Singularly different to its ’24 sibling, Hexham Vineyard, but treated pretty much the same in the winery (this sees 15% new oak), Ngumby offers fine-laced acidity with a crisp, clean, linear drive through to the finish. Bright and assertive on the palate in zesty citrus, grapefruit, quince and summery white nectarine with a light dusting of spice and equally discreet oak, it is supple in texture and even.

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