Quartz Macedon Ranges Chardonnay

At my 2015 Chardonnay Challenge the Bindi Quartz was the consensus winner from 6 Chardonnays. Ripe grapefruit and mineral - very balanced. Finishes with a touch of moreish salinity. Quite an achievement to finish No. 1 in this field.

Pale to mid lemon with a steely edge in colour. Citrus, grapefruit and under ripe stone fruit on the palate with a hint of nougat. All the minerality you would expect from this Quartz strewn vineyard. An excellent well made Chardonnay from this unique site - finishing with a touch of salinity. Certainly in the conversation discussing Australia’s top Chardonnays.

Crystal clear clarity - medium yellow. Citrus mineral and a little funk on the nose. Lemon butter - an unctuous forward palate of Medium plus intensity and a touch of salinity. Intensity without weight. Certainly in the conversation for Australia’s best Chardonnay. Not as peaches and cream as the big guns in the Margaret River or say Vat 47. Have been cutting down wine purchases of late but will need to source some of the latest vintage of Quartz Block. An excellent Chardonnay at its peak.

Pale Lemon in colour. Barrel ferment characters. Oak is there on the medium minus intensity palate but perfectly integrated. From the poor 2011 vintage everywhere in Australia except the Hunter Valley and Western Australia. The wine is restrained, fine and delicate - good citrus notes on the light to medium weight palate with medium citric acid. A perfect example of why I think Chardonnay is better with oak treatment rather than unoaked. It is required and completes the picture as long as it doesn’t dominate. This is a great effort considering the vintage.

Notes as previous 2 notes - the most recent as in April 2020. This is a cracking new world Chardonnay and all previous notes apply. Very funky, smoky and an almond note. Barb said honey suckle. Have 1 left - not sure it can show better than this and previous tastings.

Mid Lemon in colour. Notes of orange peel and meal with leesy notes. On the palate citrus and ripe grapefruit flavours - intensity is profound. It might be 10 years of age but is still fresh, tight and light on its feet yet showing 10 years of complexity. No doubt one of the best Chardonnays in Australia from this quartz strewn vineyard in Mt Macedon planted in 1988. Like a Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru IMO where you could add another nought to the price.

Lemon yellow in colour. Very lemon and citrussy on the nose with some mealy biscuity notes. Amazingly youthful. I always ask Barb the age tasted blind and she is usually very close but on this occasion she said 4 years old when it was actually 11 years. Lean on the palate with oodles of minerality from this quartz strewn vineyard, but to be honest I would prefer a little more fleshy stone fruit. It gets down to stylistic preference.

As mentioned in previous posts Bindi make some of the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Australia but they are a small producer. Funky leesy mineral (coming from the Quartz riddled vineyard - hence the name) notes. Great intensity on the palate with citrus overtones. Strikes a good balance between the luscious peaches and cream style and the acidic leaner Chablis styles. Definitely one of Australia’s better Chardonnays- singing at 10 years.

View over the mouth of the Maroochy River up to Coolum Beach on a beautiful day. From the back label - Bindi Quartz Chardonnay is sourced from the most elevated, Quartz riddled section of our Chardonnay vineyard planted in 1988. Absolutely singing at 10 years. The oak and the fruit have melded in perfect balance. Aromas of Cashew Nut and mineral with a little nectarine. More medium weight than the full flavoured Art Series Leeuwin style from Margaret River.

Sandalwood, cedar, stone fruit, melon, nutty, flinty. The internet comes via the palate. Electric acidity and a beautifully quartz, saline like finish that is ever so long.