By Farr Chardonnay 2024

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, with 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.