Andrew Guard

2023 Harkham Winery, Aziza's Chardonnay (Preservative free)

A beauty from this vintage - It's bright, fresh, zesty and deeply mineral. It has contemplative depth and interest aromatically and in the mouth...well it's quite simply wonderful, a liquid cornucopia, chiseled perfectly.

The Hunter Valley is the oldest wine region in Australia. It was the first wine region to be planted, back in the early 19th century, with cuttings brought back from Europe by James Busby. Amongst those cuttings, six were of Syrah taken from the Rhône Valley… in Australia we call it Shiraz.

Richard purchased the winery buildings and land in 2008 and works with five local growers very closely to ensure that his access to top grade fruit is direct and pays the premium required for this to be effective.

Following crushing the wines undergo fermentation using indigenous yeasts and are not adjusted in any way; they are then matured for six to nine months in a mix of newer and older barrels and hogsheads before being bottled on the estate unfiltered.