Masterful 2023 Tumbarumba Chardonnay from Hungerford Hill

I’m off to Noosa tomorrow with Mrs Ozwinereview and The Small Child for a week of emptying more bottles from the cellar + running around the National Park, not seeing koalas. There will likely be zero posts on this site as a result, so let’s talk about a decent wine before we pause, eh? The Sunshine Coast is hardly cool climate NSW wine territory (and usually, there are more Victorian winemakers on Noosa Main Beach than anyone else), but the vitality of this Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2023 would be just the ticket for a drink after a day on the sand. And few vignerons in the country have as much experience with Tumbarumba grapes as Bryan Currie (BC), so you’d expect that he can deliver a Tumby Chardonnay that nails the brief. This Chard does that. It’s too young by half, and I get that some people will stare at this wine and see the acidity, wondering what I’m on about. But the purity, the lilt of lightly creamy textures, and the finesse make it work. The fruit profile is only a few steps away from sparkling wine base with its subtle, appley flavours, though lifted up by a little reductive funk and that refined creaminess. It feels lithe, airy, cool. A product of Tumbarumba and energetic all the way. I like.

THE VERDICT

• Best drinking: probaby later. It will still be in rude health in the 2030s
• Score (out of 20): 18.5
• Score (out of 100): 94
• Alcohol %: 12.5
• RRP (in $AUD): 50
• Winery website: https://hungerfordhill.com.au/
• Would I buy it?: Sure would. It's a delight