Winemaker Notes
The trademark characteristics of the wine produced on By Farr's site are understated power and length with a mineral finish. The wine has a great fruit expression that is well integrated with French oak. The soil characteristics have come through in the style of wine. The palate is fine but firm, with great acidity, texture and length. This wine is rich in flavor, yet very refined.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay by Farr Côte Vineyard is a seriously impressive wine. It's colored by swirls of beeswax and pressed flowers, exotic nuances of saffron and freshly grated cardamon, sandalwood and matcha. It is utterly superb. The phenolics are in lockstep with the fruit, and the acidity binds it all together with invisible thread. It's seamless. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Comprised mainly of boutique, family-owned and operated wineries, Geelong is one of the cool coastal wine-growing regions of the Port Phillip Zone of Victoria. Here the elevation and proximity to sea breezes—similar to Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and the southern part of Gippsland—allow the region to produce remarkably vivid Chardonnay Pinot Noir. The elegant Shiraz wines from Geelong also attract attention.