2022 Ocean Eight ‘Veuve’ Chardonnay Mornington Peninsula

There has been a significant shift in the style of Australian Chardonnay over the past 2 decades or so and Ocean Eight has been fighting on the frontline. Eschewing the traditional big oaky, buttery and unctuous style, winemaker/owner Mike Aylward makes a lighter, leaner crisper wine, hence the monicker’Verve’. The grapes are grown in low yielding cool climate vineyards in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Picking time is crucial to the style and these grapes are picked at the beginning of their ripening phase when they display citrus flavours and possess abundant acidity. Lightly pressed the juice is gravity fed into small oak barrels that have previously been used. This allows the textural benefits barrel aging without adding the tastiness of freshly charred oak. This crisp dry white is best matched to white fleshed fish and a variety of shellfish.