Flametree Chardonnay 2020

The team at Flametree get all Lou Reed with this chardy and take a walk on the wild side. The wine goes through a wild yeast ferment using a mixture of clear and cloudy juice. The result? Some funkiness that adds more interest than your average Margaret River chard, if there’s such a thing. And there’s more complexity and texture here from barrel fermentation, a touch of MLF and lees stirring. 

Plenty of lemon zest and pith here on the nose, broadening to grapefruit and white peach. But wait - there’s more. Here come the steak knives. You also get a lovely line of quartzy minerality and some gentle spicy oak. 

It’s a pretty decent prelude but the bang is in the body, with its lovely slippery texture. The citrus fest continues and so does the integrated oak and mineral line. The acidity is bang on adding length and a cleansing, savoury finish that keeps you coming back for more. Strewth! It’s flamin’ good.