Patrick Sullivan
Chardonnay fans to the front! Y’all know Patrick Sullivan always delivers one of the year’s most anticipated releases – and the latest trio from the living legend’s 2023 vintage proves no exception. His namesake Patrick Sullivan Chardonnay puts fruit from the Limestone Coast, Mount Gambier and Coonawarra in the spotlight, showing super-ripe yellow citrus and baking spice aromas. It’s slippery in texture, just the right degree of oak-rich and possessed of a complexity that belies its bargain price tag. One for now and one for later, please. The Black Sands Chardonnay, meanwhile, comes from a singular Western Victorian site, where black volcanic soil is layered over limestone, lending distinctive minerality to the fruit. There’s a crisp-edged salinity to the juice, no doubt, kept in check by hints of green apple and nectarine as well as creamier notes of cashew and brioche. C’est si bon. Finally, for all the chin-strokers out there, comes the Bull Swamp Chardonnay from 40-year-old vines in Gippsland. A wine of power this one, fleshy and full of stone fruit scents made even more opulent by bursts of toffee apple, lime peel and toasted coconut. Stow this baby away, the tight core of grapefruit- acidity will steer it to a bright future. As always, these have all the hallmarks of thoughtful production, from a maker with a profound appreciation for classic wine who isn’t afraid of injecting some idiosyncrasy and personal style.