2023 Tyrrell's Belford Chardonnay
2023 Tyrrell's Belford Chardonnay

2023 Tyrrell's Belford Chardonnay

96 pts
Tyrrell's |Hunter Valley |Chardonnay
Incredibly impressive Single Site Chardonnay with 96 points from James Halliday.
Price:
$49.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

The Belford vineyard sits at the northern edge of Tyrrell’s Hunter Valley holdings, far from the Brokenback Range where the soils are deep and powdery - so fine they almost run through your fingers like talc. It’s a distinctive site, and since Chardonnay was first planted here in 1991, it’s produced wines with an unmistakable richness and power.

The 2023 season was a gift after a few tricky years: spring rains topped up the soils, and the harvest rolled in without heat spikes or stress. Handpicked fruit was basket pressed and cold-settled before wild fermentation in French oak barriques, where it rested for eight months. The 2023 is a Chardonnay that balances plush fruit weight with purity and poise - white peach, citrus and dry straw aromas layered with just the right touch of oak spice and lees texture.

We love this wine for how effortlessly it combines Hunter Valley generosity with an almost cool-climate line of acidity - a seamless mix of depth, freshness and texture. It’s modern Tyrrell’s through and through: flavour-packed, balanced, and made to evolve beautifully in the cellar.

Toni Paterson

Toni Paterson

Halliday Wine Companion 96 Points

The '91 chardonnay plantings, from HVD stock, are dry grown in talc-like sandy soils of the Belford vineyard. This microclimate produces a unique wine with magnificent intensity, texture and flow. The wine bursts with tensioned grapefruit and 'lemon delicious' flavours, which linger beautifully on the finish. It is supple, long and moreish and is a perfect expression of site.

Gary Walsh

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front 94 Points

White peach, lime and grapefruit, spicy oak – a cinnamon almond biscuit kind of thing. Plenty of flavour, fine powdery texture, a little ginger spicy savoury oak and oatmeal complexity, gentle grainy grip, ripe grapefruity acidity, with good length. Just settling into itself, but I like the flavour and soon-to-mesh quality spicy oak. It’s an excellent release of Belford.

The Tyrrell family leases the Belford Vineyard. It is our northern-most Semillon vineyard and was planted in 1933. Situated furthest away from the Brokenback range, it has the most broken-down soil of all our vineyard sites, with a consistency similar to that of talcum powder.

In the lead up to the 2023 vintage, there was an abundance of rain in spring which gave great soil moisture heading into the dry months of December and January. The harvest period was relatively stress-free without any adverse conditions such as rain or heat. This vintage has produced well balanced, complex wines with fruit purity and is considered to be an
exceptional Hunter Valley vintage.

The juice was cold settled for two days before fermentation began in stainless-steel tanks. The fermenting juice was then transferred to French oak barriques for eight months’ maturation.

Pale, bright green colour, the nose is intense with white peach, some citrus, dry straw and powerful oak in the background. The palate is not unlike the Belford Semillon in that there is a dense and robust nature to the fruit weight, with plenty of peaches and cream, and bright acidity. These rich flavours are balanced nicely by the textural elements from the solids ferment, and extended time on yeast lees.

Alc. 13.5%

Price Bracket $41 to $50
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Hunter Valley
Australian State NSW
Feature High Score
Iconic
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 96
Size 750ml
Vintage 2023
Closure Screw Cap

Tyrrell's

Established in 1858, Tyrrell's, an esteemed family-owned winery, holds a prominent place in Australia's viticultural history. Renowned for exemplary Shiraz, Semillon, and Chardonnay releases, the Tyrrell family safeguards the Hunter Valley's finest and oldest vineyards, upholding a legacy of quality winemaking. Chris Tyrrell, continuing the family tradition, ensures Tyrrell's remains a crucial pillar in the realm of Australian wine.

Embedded in the Hunter Valley's fabric, Tyrrell's, guided by founder Edward Tyrrell, pioneered Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, influencing the iconic Semillon style. Notably, their Vat 1 Semillon, Australia's most-awarded white wine, holds almost 5,500 medals and 330 trophies.

While honoring their heritage, the Tyrrells embrace innovation, staying at the forefront of the dynamic Hunter Valley. Fifth-generation winemaker Chris Tyrrell finds humility in working with his forefathers' vineyards. The family's commitment extends to future generations, evidenced by their participation in Australia's First Families of Wine. Guided by Edward Tyrrell's motto, "Nothing is great unless it is good," the Tyrrell legacy persists, passing the business to successive generations, balancing reverence for the past with a forward-looking perspective.

The Tyrrell family Tyrrell's

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