Dawson James Chardonnay 2019

The fruit for this 2019 Chardonnay was grown in the Meadowbank vineyard, in the Derwent Valley, in Tasmania. On the nose, there are crushed nuts, almond meal, fresh curry leaves and red apple skins. It is rich and full-bodied (pH of 3.25, total acidity of 7.7 grams per liter, for those interested) and exhibits a reverberation of flavor retention in the mouth after the wine has gone. It's like an echo chamber of fruit characters. The Meadowbank vineyard is widely respected in Tasmania as a high-quality fruit resource, and it is situated in the Upper Derwent Valley. Due to its positioning, the vineyard is subject to high diurnal range and very little assistance from cooling sea breezes. The cold nights lock in the natural acidity, while the warm days ripen the fruit, responsible for the voluptuousness and density that is veined by a throbbing pulse of juicy acidity. Drink it now, or anytime in the next decade. Drink 2023-2033. 96+ Points. Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate.

From the Meadowbank Vineyard. 40% new oak. 50% malo. A different style to Meadowbank, but tightness of vintage/vineyard is here to see. 

A little struck match, preserved lemon, fennel, spicy cinnamon oak and cashew, a slight seaweed saline thing too. Tight, powerful, ripe grapefruit and lemon, a gentle buttery gloss, but plenty of flint and chalky texture, spicy oak shows up a little on the finish, but gee, it’s long and intense and very good. Drink 2022-2029. 95 Points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front.

I tasted this beauty early August,with a lot of premium Chardonnay and it came out on top. A beautiful combination of almond meal, cashew nut and yellow peach, lemon pith  with tensile balancing acidity. Also on tasting was a bottle of the 2013 vintage demonstrating how well the wine can age.  Highly recommended - Ian Cook