2019 Old Block Chardonnay

Centare Vineyard is located in the heart of the Yarra Valley, Australia’s most prestigious, cool-climate wine region, renowned for producing some of the most exceptional, varietal wines in the world.

The ‘Old Block’ range of wines are single vineyard wines, made entirely from original estate vineyards that were planted to the region’s most classic varieties in 1998.

Yarra Valley Chardonnay is truly world-class, and Centare Vineyard Chardonnay is one of the best in the region.

Awards & Reviews: 

94 Points: Jeremy Oliver - Intense, brightly lit aromas of grapefruit and white peach are handsomely knit with creamy vanilla oak and backed by pungent nuances of charcuterie meats. It’s luscious, soft and smooth, delivering a mouthfilling, fleshy presence of pristine citrus, peach and melon-like fruit that extends with length and drive towards a refreshing, almost brittle finish of lemony acidity that deftly wraps up its generous expression of varietal fruit and oak. Stylish and artfully balanced.         

92 Points: JamesSuckling.com - Subtle, cool nose of citrus zest and lemon sponge with a nice, creamy mineral undertone. The palate is transparent, but weighty and textured, transmitting bright acidity and nicely woven, brioche character with fine lees and green apples. Slightly chewy, yet fresh, elegant and long. Already delicious now, but better in 2021

94 Points: Halliday Wine Companion - Whole-bunch pressed, aged in French puncheons (30% new) for 10 months. Aromas of citrus – prominent lemon curd – and touches of nuttiness and nougat, presumably from the oak. Full bodied in a textural way, but somewhat restrained in flavour, which imparts quite an elegant feel, accentuated by the freshness on the finish. Attractive now and may be most enjoyable while it shows these qualities.

Tasting Notes:

This is an incredibly fine and stylish expression of Yarra Valley Chardonnay. Soft hints of citrus, white-peach, brioche and nougat, follow a crystalline palate with beautiful acid focus and flavour drive. A beautiful wine on release, that will develop further complexity and texture with at least five to ten years of bottle age.

Winemaking: 

Yarra Valley Chardonnay is truly world-class, and Centare Vineyard Chardonnay is one of the best in the region. The fruit was hand-picked, then meticulously sorted to select only the best bunches for gentle, whole-bunch, small batch pressing. The juice was cold-settled, before transferring to several, 500 litre French oak puncheons (30% new) for fermentation to dryness. Approximately 20% of the wine was also allowed to complete malolactic fermentation. The wine was then matured in the puncheons for 10 months, before blending and bottling in May 2020.

Technical Data: 

Residual Sugar: 0.69g/L (dry)

Acidity: pH 3.09, Titratable Acidity 6.7g/L

Total Cases produced: 680 x 6 packs (750ml)

Harvest Date: 1st March 2019

Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Oak: 100% French puncheons – 30% new

Alcohol: 13.5%