Woodlawn Waverley Vineyard Chardonnay 2023

The best is yet to come for this wine, but its bones are classy – bright, energetic, and finely etched. Aromatically, it opens with attractively bitter tones of preserved lemon and green almond, underpinned by subtle, fine cedar. With time in the glass, fruit notes emerge: white nectarine, nashi pear, and Meyer lemon. It’s furled and tensile, needing a little coaxing, with lees-derived dough notes gradually filling out the profile. The palate mirrors that high-toned, taut feel – white grapefruit, tight lemon, and saline minerality sit at the fore, supported by a substratum of fine cedar and gentle nougat. Leesy dough notes carry through in the mouth perfume. A well-shaped frame of chalky phenolics and firm, lemon-drenched acidity brings structure and drive, finishing fresh, composed, and even.