2024 Vintage 

The feeling of the season leading up to the 2024 vintage, was one of hope. The property was poised for a healthy and vigorous growing season, yet rainfall is required for this to be achieved ! Some winter rains certainly helped but overall the Spring rains didn’t really eventuate as it had during the previous 4 year’s seasons. The resilience of the vineyards was evident though, with average cropping levels seemingly achievable with the assistance of some timely showers and irrigation to maintain the canopy through some warmer weather during February.

The season was certainly mild throughout but the warmer weather was only towards our first picking date of 27 th Feb. We tested the waters and decided after two days of picking that the fruit was capable of achieving greater flavour. We resumed picking on the 4 th March and never looked back. The Irrewarra vineyard was started on the 19 th March followed wonderfully by the Gamay and Shiraz. As we felt another vintage was coming to a close quite swiftly the Nebbiolo once again didn’t play ball. By mid April it was time to finish, so the Nebbiolo was picked and stalling at 12 Beaume. It was destined for Rose for another year.

The whites fermented extremely slowly but perhaps that has been an important factor in the tension that the wines have maintained, considering the warm finish to the season. Classic “Farr” – Calm power. As for the reds, they certainly remind me of the 2016 vintage. Wines that where capable of being pushed a little harder than the previous 4 vintages. The end result yet still in barrel, have great concentration, character and poise.

2023 Vintage

After three solid years of rain the team had hoped for some different growing conditions. Unfortunately not, a cool and wet Spring in 2022 meant that there was server disease pressure and constant canopy management required up until Christmas. Because of the two previous growing seasons the team was well aware of what was required and did an amazing job once again. Crop levels certainly seemed below average because of the cool and windy conditions, particularly in the chardonnay sites.

With frequent rain events throughout January and early February the ripen period was making little progress until we finally saw extended days into weeks of dryer and warmer weather. The welcome relief started to show us signs of delicate, super fine flavours, driven by high acidities.

Our first day of picking was set for the 16 th March, we decided to hedge our bets and pick a little Chardonnay from the Cooper block and a couple of ton of Pinot from the Windmill block. With acidity still quite high and looking for balance of flavours we decided to not pick again until the 20 th March. We harvested our last fruit in Bannockburn on the 6 th April, and Irrewarra fruit on the 14th April. All in all we are excited about the fruit that we grew and the wines they are becoming yet it is the smallest vintage since 2002.

Words from Tom Kline, Wine Critic, April 27, 2024

The enigmatic Nick Farr, of Australia’s celebrated By Farr winery, is famously reluctant to entertain the wine media or submit samples for tasting. So we jumped at an opportunity to visit the family estate in Geelong to taste some of the country’s most sought-after Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

In a small pocket of the far south-eastern corner of mainland Australia lies the Moorabool Valley, a lush, cool, undulating oasis etched into a barren, windswept plain about 20 minutes’ drive from the city of Geelong. Once part of the ocean floor, the region was uplifted some 20,000 years ago following millennia of volcanic disruption, resulting in a complex geology of limestone and basalt.

Today, when it comes to capturing this marginal terroir in a bottle, one name stands out: By Farr. Known for disruption of its own, this small-but-mighty producer’s success story is built upon decades of iconoclastic grit, unwavering integrity and fierce determination. ‘I’m never content,’ says Nick Farr, second-generation winemaker and current custodian. ‘I’m always striving for better in the vineyard.’