It’s always a genuine pleasure to share the new release of Intrinsic Chardonnay. The 2024 growing season, much like 2023, it brought its fair share of challenges from unpredictable spring weather, through to a dry to warm and focused finish. Patience and precision in the vineyard saw us through. As the season settled in just before Christmas, our site began to show its true character, delivering fruit with remarkable balance and energy. Countless hours of detailed vineyard work have once again paid off, and that commitment shines clearly in the glass. This is a wine that’s immediately present & built for longevity, Chardonnay with both vibrancy and the promise of graceful evolution. Our Chardonnay block sits on volcanic grey loam over weathered basalt, perched at 430 metres on a high plateau. Planted in 1991 to Clone I10V5, it continues to thrive under organic and regenerative farming practices. Diverse cover crops enhance soil vitality, encouraging a living ecosystem beneath the vines. Walking through the rows, you can feel the ground alive with energy a connection that translates directly into the fruit and the wine itself. The fruit was whole-bunch pressed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in 300L hogsheads sourced from both Siruge (French) and Stockinger (Austrian) cooperages. During élevage, the wine remained on full solids without racking or any lees stirring, allowing natural texture and complexity to build. It completed full natural malolactic fermentation unassisted, received only a small sulphur addition post-malo, and was racked to stainless steel for a second winter to settle and harmonise before estate bottling — unfined and unfiltered. Across the estate, our new Chardonnay plantings (Clones Bernard 76 and Penfolds 58) have flourished through this past season. Seeing these young blocks establish themselves in our soils at our domaine is incredibly exciting a glimpse into the future of the next Intrinsic. All going to plan next year will bring our very first crop.
