Porongurup, Western Australia

Porongurup is one of Western Australia's hidden gems. It's here, just east of Mount Barker, that Guy Lyons makes his stellar cool-climate wines. Fruit is sourced from his family's Springview vineyard, where vines were planted in 1985 on ancient lateritic gravels. The vineyard faces the ocean and the grapes enjoy a long ripening season in what is otherwise a Mediterranean climate.

Guy's Chardonnay was hand-picked, and whole-bunch pressed straight to oak barrels. Wild fermentation occurred in a combination of an oak puncheon (500-litre) with the balance to 225-litre and 300-litre barrels. Approximately 20% new oak. Some natural malolactic occurred, with a little bit of bâtonnage, but this Chardonnay was really left alone for the most part. Oak ageing for a year before bottling.

Tender white-fleshed fruits cut with a dash of lime define the nose, but its the palate that really sets the pulse racing. This is serious modern Australian Chardonnay, finely tailored, understated in terms of oak, impressively energetic in terms of fruit and utterly delicious.