Dexter Chardonnay 2018

Tod Dexter purchased a vineyard site at Tuerong on the Mornington Peninsula in 1987 and planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He became winemaker at Stonier and then Yabby Lake and during that period the Dexter Vineyard provided Stonier with reserve-grade fruit. Almost 20 years later, and with a wealth of experience behind him, he started his own label. What he strives for in his Chardonnay is what he looks for in any wine he drinks - aromatics, prettiness, texture, elegance, line and length.

"It's laid down a mighty track record over the years at The Wine Front. Ample flavour delivered on a fine and lean frame. Ripe lime and white nectarine, cashew and light ginger spice. Tight and intense. Line and length. Super Chardonnay satisfaction. It's just right."  Gary Walsh

"Aromas of grapefruit and lemon with hints of nectarine and subtle oak. Consistent with previous vintages in its elegance and fineness after a warm and dry 2018 vintage. Subtle flavours reflective of the aromas – particularly lemon, grapefruit, stone fruit and elegant oak. The wine has a soft middle palate with good length and slightly less acid than in 2017. Similar in structure and flavour to the 2016 vintage. Matured in French oak puncheons (16% New, 22% second use, 5% third use and 57 % older) for 10 months and inoculated with a neutral yeast. Clones: P59 (47%), I10V5 (29%), Dijon (24%)."  Dexter Wines

Expert reviews

"It's laid down a mighty track record over the years at TWF. Ample flavour delivered on a fine and lean frame. Ripe lime and white nectarine, cashew and light ginger spice. Tight and intense. Line and length. Super Chardonnay satisfaction. It's just right. Drink: 2020-2027."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 95 points

"Advanced colour for its age, albeit with no visible hint of brown, just luscious, mouthfilling chardonnay flavours - white peach, rock melon, and zesty acidity are mouthwatering. Drink by 2027."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 94 points

About the winery

Tod Dexter, the man behind the Dexter label, grew up with wine. A childhood friendship with one of Melbourne's premium wine merchants, the Crittenden family, introduced him to the vast world of wine. It was then no surprise that in 1974 after working a ski season in the US, Tod ended up in the Napa Valley where he spent a seven-year apprenticeship with one of California's premium family wineries, Cakebread Cellars. During that period he met his wife Debbie, and the two of them started to toy with the idea of setting up in Australia. Back-to-back vintages at Brown Brothers in the King Valley in 1985 and '86 served as a trial.

Tod moved home to Australia in January 1987 and purchased a vineyard site at Tuerong on the Mornington Peninsula. Later that year, he planted 1.6 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. To keep the wolves from the door he became winemaker at Stonier and over the next ten years, he and Brian Stonier grew the company to become one of Australia's premium producers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. During this decade Tod leased his vineyard to Stonier and the Dexter vineyard provided them with reserve-grade fruit.

Dexter left Stonier in 2003 to take the reins at Yabby Lake, whose vineyards are a stone's throw from his own. In 2006 he turned 50. A friend told him if he didn't do his own thing now, it'd never happen. So almost 20 years after the first vines in the Dexter vineyard were planted, and with a wealth of experience behind him, Dexter Wines was born. His vineyard is planted to 4 hectares of Pinot Noir and 3.1 hectares of Chardonnay and he makes roughly the same quantity of each.