Hoddles Creek 1er Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2023

Bought in 1961 by the d'Anna family who operate the exceptional Boccaccio grocery, deli and supermarket in Balwyn, Melbourne, and who in recent years have added the exceptional Enoteca Boccaccio restaurant to the business, Hoddles Creek Estate was first planted in 1997. Today the property comprises something like 300 acres of constantly - and often quite steeply - undulating ground, through which the actual Hoddles Creek bubbles innocently from one side to the other. Around 120 acres are planted to vines. The site is typical Upper Yarra in terms of soil types and (of course) altitude, so its wines benefit greatly from a significant difference between daytime and nocturnal temperatures. Over the years Franco d'Anna (the estate's winemaker and 'farmer') has focused towards chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot gris in that order, with a keen eye still on the development of its pinot bianco. The Estate wines are indeed sourced from all over the diverse property, while the 1er Yarra Valley wines are selected from particular sites that deliver special layers of perfume, flavour and texture. The exceptional - and indeed exceptionally steep - Syberia vineyard delivers a mere 13 tonnes of beautifully shaped and perfumed chardonnay from its mean and challenging slopes, fashioning a Syberia Chardonnay of considerable poise and class.