Rating 94 points - James Halliday's wine tasting note - Clones 76, 95 and Mendoza, wild yeast solids fermentation in French puncheons (25% new), partial mlf and 9 months maturation. Skilled winemaking has left the wine bright and crisp, not in sauvignon blanc territory; it is light-bodied, but white peach and grapefruit varietal flavours hold the floor, not oak or vanilla pod mlf. Will flower over the next 2-3 years.

Wine Companion tasting note. Rating: 95 points
Drink By: 2024 Price:$32.00 Alcohol: 13.3% James Halliday - Published on 27 Jul 2015
Bright straw-green, vibrant, but a little deeper than most when 11 months old; barrel ferment inputs are immediately obvious, providing aroma/flavour complexity, structure and texture likewise. Struck match, grapefruit zest and toasty oak have come together with unexpected poise, bordering on outright finesse. Quite a journey.

Light, greenish gold. A suave, pungent bouquet of dried pear, melon and white peach, with floral and spice notes coming up with air. Lush and creamy in texture, repeating the peach and melon qualities and taking a turn to more exotic passionfruit on the back half. An opulent, open-knit style that is drinking very well right now.

Dexter Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay  is bright, pale lemon-gold, green tinged. Still a little shy to sniff, but there are hints of stone fruits. The palate is tightly contained by citrusy, grapefruity acidity, showing stone fruits, fig and its ripe and mouth-filling, held in balance by that refreshing acidity. Although there is 20% new oak, that component is background material along with suggestions of nutty, mealy complexity. This is a complex wine that wants more time; I’d suggest leaving it for another six to twelve months, from when it will repay amply that order of patience. 

This is right in the slot. It’s lean and long, mostly, with grapefruit and citrus rind character drilling through to the flourish of the finish. Fuzzy peach and spiced wood characters are fringe players at most. It’s a highly disciplined chardonnay. It needs a year or two in bottle. Rated : 92 Points Winefront.com.au

An intriguing brioche-like amalgam of roasted nuts, linseed and orange liquer. This is an exotic, intricate style that is rich and generous with ripe citrus and savoury wild yeast derived complexity. A concentrated wine with a tight, natural acid backbone and a long crisp finish.

Guilty By Association Chardonnay 2015 is generously flavoured with a creamy, slighty mealy texture and sings out "I'm a Tumbarumba chardonnay" with white peach, grapefruit, almonds and lemons. There's an unforced, effortless pace and an easy generosity of flavour. There's a slightly edgy tension which leads into a long finish. Given the minimal winemaking behind the scenes (preservative-free and vegan-friendly) it's a very polished wine that raises the bar for other PF wines.

 GW: These Hoddles Creek Chardonnays always look better with a year or two to settle, and you need to look ahead, and see what’s to come. Subtle whiff of struck match, almond, ladies’ perfume, white peach and a dab of vanilla and dough. It’s bouncy and juicy as a youngster, with white peach and weak lime flavours, almond milk complexity, flinty lightly chalky texture, and a clean finish of good length and purity.
Ripper. 93 points 2018-2025+"