The 2023 Gentle Folk Piccadilly Chardonnay is a beautifully focused single-vineyard Chardonnay from the heart of Piccadilly in the Adelaide Hills, one of Australia’s most highly regarded cool-climate Chardonnay districts. The fruit comes from the Udy’s Road vineyard, planted in 1983 at approximately 520 metres elevation on light loamy clay over sandstone, with schist and quartz running through the site. Farmed biodynamically and produced in tiny quantities of around 100 dozen, the wine captures the intensity and natural freshness for which the upper Piccadilly Valley has become renowned.
The fruit was 100% whole-bunch pressed before fermentation and maturation in French oak, with approximately 25% new barrels, spending 11 months in oak before further settling in tank. The palate is precise and tightly structured, showing lemon citrus, Granny Smith apple and white stone fruit alongside subtle almond, struck-match and savoury complexity. Fine acidity and pronounced mineral tension drive an exceptionally long finish. The 2023 received an outstanding 96 Points from Mike Bennie at The Wine Front, who highlighted its precision, minerality, length and tension.
