Chardonnay Geelong 2023 – By Farr

To produce the Chardonnay Geelong By Farr the fruit was hand picked then whole-bunch pressed in the winery. The solids were chilled before being put into barrel, 30% of which was new French oak. A natural fermentation occurred over the next one to two months at low temperatures. Once fermentation had finished a small amount of stirring helped start malolactic fermentation which finished by mid-spring. The wine was then racked, fined and lightly filtered before bottling 11 months after picking.

The Geelong sub-region of Victoria has a cool climate with maritime influences. The three acres of By Farr Chardonnay vineyards were planted in 1994 and are at an elevation of 120 metres on a north-east facing slope with red soil over limestone. A variety of viticultural techniques are used, from cover cropping and mulching, eliminating herbicides and conserving moisture, to only using organic sprays on the vines. The clones used for the Chardonnay are a mixture of Dijon clones and Penfolds 58.

Behind By Farr there are winemakers Gary Farr and son Nick. Gary has made wine in Australia (at Bannockburn) and Burgundy (he worked 10 vintages at Domaine Dujac) since the early 1980s. Today, from 33 acres in Geelong, 80 kilometres southwest of Melbourne, they make small quantities of single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that rank with Australia’s best.