95 Points - Jeni Port
Curly Flat's Macedon Ranges winery is one of the coldest vineyard sites in Australia, so it's little wonder they chose to focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir when they established Curly Flat in the early 1990's.
Curly Flat's Chardonnay now comfortably sits among the top echelon of Australian Chardonnay and we've recently welcomed the newly released 2023 vintage release. A product of another cool and low-yielding vintage, the 2023 Curly Flat Chardonnay was made from three distinct vineyard blocks, which has delivered another pristine, intensely flavoured and beautifully structured Macedon Ranges Chardonnay.
"95 Points. The producer lives up to its reputation as a quality Chardonnay maker with another cool climate lovely from a cool vintage. Youthful yellow with green tinges. The scent of stone fruits is quite intense with nectarine and white peach joined by melon and citrus with some added complex notes from almond meal, nougat. There is quite a luscious quality to this wine with a number of clones in play, each bringing their own qualities – clones are P58 (aka, the old Penfolds clone noted for its citrus) and Dijon clones V3 and V5. Generous citrus and stone fruit flavours come with depth and an added note of sea spray-saline, finishing with light spice and ginger notes. Shows good attention to detail. Drink: 2025 - 2033"- Jeni Port, winepilot.com.
"The oak feels heavy at the moment but it should balance up in time. Cedar, pine, woodsmoke and grilled peach characters gradually move into pear and nectarine territory. There’s plenty of juice here, plenty of flavour, and an elegance to the finish, which bodes well. As it breathes a honey and tonic water combination emerges. I’d expect this to drink beautifully in a few year’s time. Rated: 93+ Points Tasted: Mar25. 12.4% alc. Closure: Screwcap Drink: 2026 - 2032+"- Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front.
