2019 GC Chardonnay By Farr

By Farr

Australia / Geelong / By Farr

The fruit is hand-picked then whole bunch-pressed in the winery. All the solids are collected and chilled before being put to barrel (about 50% new French oak). A natural fermentation will occur at cool temperatures over the next one to two months, and then a small amount of stirring helps to start malolactic fermentation. The wine is then racked, fined and lightly filtered before bottling 11 months after picking.
A wine with great fruit presence and varietal character at the front of the palate, the power of this site then takes over and it finishes with a very assertive line of acidity. As our greatest expression of Chardonnay, this wine has very quickly commanded a strong following around the world. – Nick Farr

It has real presence on the alluring nose. Lime peel, apple sorbet, nectarine, nutmeg, vanilla and flint, a cool spearmint note too. On the palate, you feel immediately the rev of energy. Cool fruit upfront with zest and bite from the off. Medium bodied and racy with a firm citrus, stone fruit and mineral core. It has super texture and impeccable line and length. The cool, grapefruity finish sails very long with fine-grained grip, notable stoniness and lingering fruit. It’s mouthwatering and moreish, like all these latest single-vineyard releases. Such energy, presence and complexity and yet they are also so completely, compellingly drinkable. – Ed Merrison, CellarHand

December, 2020

Campbell Mattinson

The Wine Front

96 points.

This 2019, well, wow. This is a wine of clear, sheer quality. Varietal flavour, juicy, bright, pristine, irrepressible. It’s taut and complex but the fruit is just so unstoppably juicy. Cracked wheat and white peach flavours have plenty to say, as do cedarwood and pear, but everything is soaked through with the other, no flavour or aspect works in isolation. In short, this is a wonderful white wine.

February, 2021

Huon Hooke

Gourmet Traveller WINE

96 points.

This is beautiful wine: honey, nougat, bran biscuit, almond-meal, stone fruits and malt are all evident. Creamy yeast lees, too. Tremendously intense flavour, rounded and seamless, its fine balance enlivened by citrusy acidity. Complex, refined and long.

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About By Farr

The Farr family has presented a resolute and faithful rendering of the vineyards of Geelong since 1978. That’s when Gary Farr started out as winemaker at Bannockburn. His intimate nurturing of the land on his doorstep was informed by a dozen vintages at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, stints in the USA at Cristom, Oregon and Calera, California, and sojourns to areas such as the Shiraz and Viognier heartland of the Rhône Valley. Prescient and purposeful planting of the By Farr vineyards began in 1994 and the wines that ensued quickly established a formidable reputation. Nick Farr took charge of the range in 2009, and his comment that his father is 90% of his winemaking inspiration is borne out by the attitude, depth of character and understated finesse of the wines. But there’s no doubt that Nick is taking these wines forward with great conviction and instinct. The close-planted trio at the top of the Farr tree - GC Chardonnay, RP Pinot Noir and Tout Près - round out a truly outstanding set of single-vineyard expressions.

About

Nick Farr readily acknowledges the influence of father Gary in his winemaking and viticultural practices—however, these have been significantly enhanced by his own vast experience. While he was growing up, Nick often worked alongside his father on the family estate before a stint at Rosemount in the Hunter Valley in the late 90s. This was followed by more vintages with Gary as well as at Innisfail Vineyards in the Bannockburn area, where Nick commenced his label Farr Rising. Like his father, Nick has experience at international vineyards, including Cristom in Oregon, Au Bon Climate in California, and Domain Dujac in Burgundy.
Nick’s enthusiasm and passion for wine is captivating, and an excellent grounding in both the new and old schools of winemaking is the perfect complement to his individual tastes and ideas. “The wines we make are not mainstream—they are expressions of our vineyard, our land and what we like to drink. That is what we promise to deliver.”