2024 Ghost Rock 'Oulton' Chardonnay

About The Wine    

An enticing and richly layered bouquet, where aromas of warm vanilla and pineapple upside-down cake unfold alongside nougat, fresh cream, and toasted almond. The palate is generous and enveloping, delivering a full-bodied expression without sacrificing finesse.

Oak spice weaves through a core of ripe stone fruit and creamy textures, balanced by a bright, crystalline acid line that speaks to its cool-climate origins. Despite its luxurious mouthfeel, the wine remains focused and vibrant, finishing long and resonant with a perfectly judged tension between richness and precision. A benchmark expression for lovers of structured, expressive Chardonnay.

Vineyard

The Oulton Vineyard is Ghost Rock’s lowest and most protected vineyard. Fruit for this wine was selected from the 95 clone. Vines were shoot-thinned early in the season and leaf-plucked before véraison to maximise airflow.

Winemaking

The wine was gently pressed to tank and allowed a light settling before the cloudy juice was racked to barrel. It was barrel fermented with 30% new French oak. Following primary fermentation, barrels were kept warm to encourage malolactic fermentation, which was halted about halfway through. The wine was then left to age in barrel, with occasional lees stirring.   

About Ghost Rock   

Ghost Rock is absolutely on a roll—Best Pinot and all out champion of the show at Tassie wine show in January 2025 and winemaker Sierra Blair was crowned Young Gun of Wine People’s Choice.   

Operating for 20 years in the Cradle Coast, the Arnold family are almost single-handedly responsible for the creation of the Cradle Coast wine region. Now under the capable management of second-generation Winemaker Justin Arnold, and his wife Alicia Peardon.    

The sites are variations on a theme of rich volcanic clay: some heavier, some loamier, some sandier. The team work to control vigour, letting the cover crops go in the mid-rows, thinning shoots, laying more canes, and so forth.    

“They’re good sites, we’ve got the right clones and the acidity is the Tassie magic,” says Sierra. “I don’t know how much credit I can get for these wines being as good as they are.”     

Snapshot  

Region: Cradle Coast, TAS

Country: Australia

Alcohol: 12.8%  

Vintage: 2024    

Size: 750ml

Closure: Wax sealed cork  

Varieties: Chardonnay

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