2021 Patrick Underwood 'Rush Bros' Chardonnay

About The Wine

This is dry-grown Chardonnay from a beautiful five-and-a-half rows 450 metres above sea level between the townships of Malmsbury and Taradale. Made from P58 clone planted on its own roots in 1988, with a north-south orientation on relatively young (2.6 million years) lava flows of basalt and scoria intermingled with quartz. It is farmed by John Rush, who, along with his two brothers, has owned the property for many decades.

The 2021 season produced fresh, powerful wines. The vineyard received decent rains throughout the winter, a moderate summer and long and gentle ripening led to easy picking choices and a pleasantly spaced harvest in the winery. The fruit was picked on 6^th April, with the bunches gently foot-trodden before a very long press direct to barrel. Two large Taransaud casks held the entire volume—one new demi-muid and one five-year-old puncheon. A further 12 months in tank culminated with a series of gravity rackings and judicious SO2 additions to prepare the wine for bottling by hand, which took place on 1^st June.

Pat has nailed a gastronomic style with breadth, layers and length, deserving of what he terms “generous cooking.”

Reviews

"A bit of an X-Factor here – Malmsbury fruit - combined with a top year, and the result is something quite special. Superfine in flavour and structure, this exudes all class. There's a lovely delicacy to be explored in flavours of hazelnut, grapefruit, white peach, nectarine and hints of flint and spice. Quite alive and full of energy as it moves across the palate, linear in shape and brisling in lemon pastille notes. Top year, top wine.” 95 points, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion

“Here’s a rich and fleshy wine, offering pie apple, salt crusted, spice, lemon peel and pastry dough. It’s glossy, but saline, has some nutty richness, balanced acidity, lots of pie crust and apple, a light chalky texture, some mint in the mix, with a silky yet stony finish of good length. It’s a bolder style, and interesting too, though it does find balance and offers salinity and some grip to texture. It’s a Sunday lunch with roast chicken kind of affair, and quite different in style to your average Chardonnay, with maybe a little nod to Jura here.” 94 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

About Little Reddie

You won’t find a more dedicated, thoughtful and meticulous winemaker than Patrick Underwood. Pat works with unique vineyards in Central Victoria; from dry-grown plots in Malmsbury, to obscure plantings of indigenous Venetian varieties in Colbinabbin, to iron-rich sites planted to mineral Nebbiolo. His relationships with his growers are fiercely warm and tight, sharing ethics and values towards the land. In the cellar, Pat’s approach is one of passion, intuition and minimal intervention.

Region: Central Victoria

Country: Australia

Alcohol: 13.3%

Vintage: 2021

Size: 750ml

Closure: Cork

Varietal: Chardonnay