The typically clever 10X Chardonnay 2014

Good to see a ’14 Mornington wine through the door. They’re rare beasts in some quarters, with cold and windy conditions during flowering dropping yields in some vineyards down to 10% of normal (some choice quotes in this ABC article).

Quality, however, is high, even if the ’15s are generating more noise…

This 10X Chardonnay 2014 is the entry point for the Ten Minutes by Tractor range, but it typically hits well above its weight. Green straw coloured, this packs a nutty and quite overt nose with nectarine, hay and hessian oak – a big hit to start.

Yet the palate is a direct contrast to the nose, the acidity turning the volume down on the oak and fruit, and making for a surprisingly refreshing drink. Clever. I was expecting it to be quite broad and dull given the initial width, but the palate has a great cohesion between oak, fruit and acid (limited malo helping out I’d hazard). Certainly trim and ultimately quite tasty.

A clever wine all round. It’s not ultra long, but ticks the boxes perfectly. Best drinking: 2016-2020. 17.7/20, 93/100. 13.2%, $30. Would I buy it? I’d drink most of a bottle of this.