Penny’s Hill 2017 The Minimalist Chardonnay, $35
I love a fine Chardonnay, I love what winemaker Alexia Roberts is doing at Penny’s Hill, and I’m certain that the Adelaide Hills produces some of the best Chardonnay in the country. So I’m really pleased to give the nod to this elegant wine that is so named because it is made with minimal winemaking intervention. The beautiful fruit from a single vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley was fermented in French oak using natural yeasts, and the wine spent eight months on lees. It may have had minimalist treatment but it delivers a lovely complexity of flavours and textures, no doubt helped along by the wild yeasts. You might pick up hints of stonefruit, citrus, nuts and spice, with plenty of acidity and a deliciously long finish so that you can savour every last drop.
