By Farr Chardonnay 2025

Gary Farr's career reads like a masterclass in cool-climate winemaking. He began in 1978 as the inaugural winemaker at neighbouring Bannockburn Vineyards, a Moorabool Valley estate founded by a committed Burgundy fanatic at a time when Bordeaux varieties still dominated Australian thinking. Along the way he absorbed real hands-on experience at some of the world's great addresses — Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, Cristom in Oregon, Calera in California — before he and wife Robyn purchased their own first parcel of land in 1994, followed by a second in 1998, finally leaving Bannockburn in 2004 to focus entirely on By Farr. The estate's final piece — the connecting parcel between the two original blocks — was purchased by son Nick and his wife Cassie in 2011, and Nick now leads winemaking, bringing his own international pedigree to bear on the family project. This entry-point Chardonnay comes from the same 1994-planted vineyard as the estate's celebrated Sangreal Pinot Noir — red soil over limestone and sandstone on a north-facing slope — hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, and fermented naturally in barrel with a restrained 30% new French oak and only limited stirring through partial malolactic.

The result shows exactly the "understated power and length" the Farr family has built its reputation on: white stone fruit, citrus zest, and flinty, struck minerality lead, with almond and gentle oak spice rounding out the finish. The palate is fine yet firm, with real acidity and a distinctly mineral core that speaks clearly of its limestone terroir — critics and collectors alike frequently draw comparisons to serious white Burgundy, not for flavour but for the underlying philosophy of restraint and site transparency. It's a wine that rewards patience; young bottles can seem tightly wound, but a few years in the cellar let real complexity emerge. Pour it with roast chicken, creamy pasta, or a rich seafood dish — this is one of Australia's most quietly revered Chardonnays, from a father-son team who've spent three decades proving Geelong belongs in the same conversation as the world's great cool-climate regions.