2020 Cobaw Ridge Chardonnay

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’twas a difficult growing season, 2020 in Macedon Ranges, though all that started in 2019 with the way fruit set worked and the like. Cobaw Ridge is of course in its own, quite unique pocket, high up, whipped by southerly winds and generally just outside the box. There’s good chat around fires and smoke impact in 2020, some chat with Alan Cooper of Cobaw Ridge yielded, “last summer the department of lighting fires did a few small “controlled “ burns around the area. It was interesting to see that the small amounts of haze seemed to settle in the lower parts and valleys but up here we seemed to be above the line!? Works for frost as well!”, ever chirpy. Between controlled burns, fire bugs lighting 50-odd fires while grapes were on vine, and potential smoke drift from south, there’s concern, but, not here today. While this was a very small crop and growing conditions weren’t ideal, the resulting wine here is a beauty.
It’s a textural feast, soft and mellow, warm marshmallow textured with great sourdough and oatmeal savouriness, suggestions of salted cashew, sweet lime, ripe apple and some faint Parisian almond like characters too. Scents and flavours match up, there’s depth and saline minerally things going on in the core. Flows beautifully, even, slow and long. You’d say a little shy, perhaps, a bit more diffuse than usual, but a wine of considerable deliciousness is in the glass regardless. Drinking superbly right now too. Drink 2021 - 2030.
94 Points
Mike Bennie - The Wine Front (August 2021)