2022 Fighting Gully Road Smith Vineyard Chardonnay

Planted in 1978, the Smith Vineyard is one of Beechworth’s oldest Chardonnay sites, now in the meticulous hands of Mark Walpole. It’s no surprise, then, that this release has landed among the highest-rated Beechworth Chardonnays ever on The Wine Front, putting it in elite company alongside the likes of Giaconda and Sorrenberg.

This is serious stuff - intensely concentrated yet beautifully poised. White peach and pink grapefruit meet almond meal, biscuit spice, and a flicker of struck match. There’s power, but it’s the precision that really stuns: fine chalky grip, rippling acidity, and a finish that lingers with ripe lime juice and spice.

If you love Beechworth Chardonnay at its peak, this is one for the cellar. A new benchmark from one of the region’s great sites.

97 points
"This enters the pantheon of high scoring Beechworth Chardonnay on TWF as per the list HERE. This is a powerful wine, though what I like most about it, is that it does not come at the expense of charm and drinking appeal. White peach, almond meal, pink grapefruit, biscuit spices, a little struck match adds complexity, and there’s fennel and floral perfume too. It offers fine chalky grip, a burst of grapefruit acidity through white stone fruits, and the finish is all ripe lime juice, spicy, perfumed and offers superb length. A complete wine. Beautiful."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)