Rivulet Chardonnay 2024

“This is grown on the Elsewhere vineyard, which is the oldest vineyard in Tasmania’s Huon Valley. This vineyard was established in 1982, and is dry-grown. As Rivulet’s Keira O’Brien writes, “Elsewhere Vineyard is in the deep south of Tasmania, between Huonville and Cygnet, at the edge of viticultural possibility.” Production of this wine was only 145 dozen.

I met Keira once, a lifetime ago. Her journey since has been a river with many twists and turns, all of them remarkable or – to use her more exquisite word – a rivulet. Whatever word you use, Keira O’Brien is the real deal. She never makes a bad wine. From afar at least she comes across as the perfect combination of grace, determination, hard work and talent.

This wine is gold for Australia. It’s a humdinger, hands down, it’s beautiful. It’s awash with citrus, peach, pear, ginger and nougat, and has crushed fennel and sugared rose petals as highlights. It’s a crescendo wrapped in deliciousness, already, but it’s also clear that it’s still building and that it still has more to give. This is a wine of line, length and composure but the sparks are flying too. X factor. X marks the spot. This wine is all of the above.” 96 points. - Campbell Mattinson, WIne Front.