Whicher Ridge Henry Road Chardonnay 2019

A sweet-hearted Margaret River chardonnay if ever there was one. By which I mean there is a core of ripe, delicious, sweet fruit (NOT residual sugar sweet) to this wine that brings a smile to the face. Against a background of leesy nuttiness (the chardonnay is left on yeast lees for an extended period of time, around 11 months) rises tropical fruits, mango skin and citrus with a grapefruit pithiness and gentle spice.

It’s not shy in coming forward but along with the big personality there is a complexitiy and full-bodied appeal. It is nicely countered by some race acidity. There is no acid addition here, something worth noting since Aussie chardonnays have often been criticised in the past for the addition of acidity to counter over-ripeness leaving solid balance throughout.

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