2023 Murdoch Hill Tilbury Chardonnay
2023 Murdoch Hill Tilbury Chardonnay

2023 Murdoch Hill Tilbury Chardonnay

95 pts
Murdoch Hill |Adelaide Hills |Chardonnay
A thoughtful, finely tuned Hills Chardonnay that shows just how good this region - and this winemaker - can be.
Price:
$49.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Michael Downer’s Tilbury Chardonnay is a great example of what makes the Adelaide Hills such an exciting spot for modern Australian Chardonnay. Most of the fruit comes from Lenswood, with a smaller slice from Piccadilly - two cooler pockets of the Hills that bring brightness and crunch, but also a bit of weight and depth.

Part of Murdoch Hill’s Artisan range, Tilbury is where Downer plays around a little more - wild ferments, whole berries, a fair bit of lees contact, and a mix of French and Austrian oak (about 40% new). It’s not flashy, just quietly detailed and really well judged. You get the purity of the fruit, but there’s also a chalky edge, a bit of grip, and just enough texture to keep it interesting.

The 2023 vintage was cool and wet, but you wouldn’t know it from this. The wine feels composed, layered, and built to age, even though it’s already drinking well now.

95 points
"Crushed rock flintiness and oyster shell brine meet citrus and herbs. Tightly coiled and youthful, with juicy acidity and a compelling finish."
- Ned Goodwin MW (Decanter)

95 points
"Electric and tightly wound with lemon, lime, grapefruit pith, white stone fruit and crushed rock. Saline, coiled and built for the long haul."
- Katrina Butler (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points
"Grapefruit rind, lime zest and nectarines over vivid acidity and oyster-shell salinity. Tight now but promises softness and generosity with age."
- jamessuckling.com

92 points
"Flinty and firm with pumice, green apple, lime and bitter grapefruit. Chalky, grippy texture with struck match complexity. Take your time."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

95 points - "A crushed rock flintiness to oyster shell brininess, melding with verdant hints of mint and other garden herbs, smattered amid orchard fruits and citrus. Demur, youthful, tightly coiled and in need of time. Yet the acidity is juicy rather than hard. The finish, compelling…" - Ned Goodwin MW (Decanter)

95 points - "A very cool and wet vintage for the Hills would've brought with it many challenges, not that you'd sense it here. The wine saw full mlf to combat the austerity of acids, and while it is still extremely tight and coiled in its youth, this will relax with bottle-age into something remarkable. Citrus, both lemon and lime, with some grapefruit pith and curry leaf, a thread of salinity flush with white stone fruit and crushed rock. It's tantalising, electric and bound to reward patience." - Katrina Butler (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points - "Discrete and inviting aromas of grapefruit rind, lime zest, river stones and nectarines. The palate is medium-bodied with vivid acidity and a generous mouthfeel, giving notes of orange peel, Asian pears and oyster shells. A tight wine that will soften nicely in the years to come. Drink or hold. Screw cap." - jamessuckling.com

92 points - "It’s so flinty and firm. Ozone and struck match with pumice and green apple lime. Very grippy and chalky, though some will like the juice-meets-hot-flinty moments here. Quite bitter and sour lemon zone things going on with green apple and pink grapefruit both at their bitter, pithy apex. Very precise, Breathy with that flinty funk. Light nougat in here too. But geez the chalk and firmness is a thing. Take your time." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

With 80% fruit from Lenswood and 20% from Piccadilly. The Tilbury has tight and precise acidity, compact structure, and some bold length. It has scents of fresh lime, white flowers, with an oyster shell minerality followed by citrus flavours and a subtle chariness due to seeing 40% new French and Austrian oak. The style of fruit from Lenswood provides a beautiful contrast to the tight and linear nature of the fruit from Piccadilly.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type White
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Adelaide Hills
Australian State SA
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
Decanter
The Wine Front
James Suckling
Critic Score 95
92
Alcohol 12%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2023
Closure Screw Cap

Murdoch Hill

Murdoch Hill is a family-owned winery captained by talented young winemaker Michael Downer.

Downer splits the range in two: his clean-cut, consistently high-quality ‘Estate’ wines are excellent value and perpetually reliable, and his quirky, adventurous ‘Artisan’ wines which offer an alt-styling and different shades of the region.

With the combination of high-quality Adelaide Hills fruit grown on the family estate and the undoubted talent in the winery, this is a Hills producer on the up and up!

Murdoch Hill Murdoch Hill

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