2022 Oakridge "Willowlake Vineyard" Chardonnay Yarra Valley Victoria

From the oldest vineyard at this address, planted in 1979. A complete wine, with a veneer of ample fruit bolstered by structural tension behind. Stone fruit allusions, nougat, hazelnut, pear eau de vie and creamed cashew, all straddling a bone of tensile acidity. Very fine, mid-weighted Yarra chardonnay. Built to grow with stature in the cellar, as delicious as it is now.

Almost 10 years ago I brought the 2012 vintage of Oakridge's Willow Lake Chardonnay into K&L as one of our first ever Direct Imports from Australia. I still vividly remember the incredible vivacity and energy of the wine, the racy acidity and intense flinty mineral tones it presented. In fact, here's my tasting note: "It is a supremely focused, compact, mineral driven Chardonnay that I believe rivals the Grand Crus of Chablis. Electric acidity, struck flint, baked orchard fruit, savory pie crust, saline, mouthwatering nutty finish; exceptional Chardonnay." And so, here I am a decade later, tasting the 2022 vintage of the same wine, equally as enthused about it as the 30-year old me was! And my tasting note still stands! For anyone interested in racy, vibrant, mineral driven, flinty, focused Chardonnay, Oakridge's wine are a right of passage. Fans of Walter Scott in Oregon, Sandhi in Sta. Rita Hills, Cobb on the Sonoma Coast...you have to check out these Oakridge wines. Also, the price is pretty much the same as we sold the wine for a decade ago! It was a great deal then, and even more so in 2024. I'm thrilled to see these wines on our shelves 10 years down the road and they are just as impressive as always! Cheers!