Holm Oak The Wizard Chardonnay 2025

Holm Oak is located just north of Launceston, in Tasmania's Tamar Valley. Holm Oak is a labour of love for winemaker Bec Duffy and her viticulturist husband Tim Duffy, Since 2007 they have followed their dream of crafting delicious expressions of cool-climate Tasmanian wines. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling are outstanding. The Wizard Chardonnay, their flaghip chardonnay, is a blend of the best barrels of Chardonnay from the vintage.

"Composed and classy, I love this Chardonnay's swagger as it confidently strides out. The Wizard is Holm Oak's flagship white and it nails the brief. White-fleshed stonefruit leads supported by cashew and nougat notes that immediately add complexity. Lemon juice, canned pineapple and brioche weave effortlessly through the palate, while vanilla cream and caramel drops contribute a creamy richness without tipping the balance. The influence of malolactic fermentation (65%) and French oak (65% new) is thoughtfully handled, adding texture and depth rather than dominating the fruit.  Rather than chasing the chiselled, high-acid style of many modern Chardonnays, this builds a beautifully rounded palate shape that feels complete and oozes satisfaction. A grapefruit tang on the finish elevates the finish, keeping everything fresh and focused."  Steve Leszczynski

"The Wizard is a rich melange of ripe stone fruit, fine tannins, refreshing acidity and beguiling complexity. In the glass it is clear, bright and straw in colour. Initially it has aromas of peach, nectarine and a bit of toasty vanilla. As it opens up it also reveals melon, toasted nuts, sweet spice and then a hint of savoury and caramel notes. The stone fruit follow through to the palate, but there is also some citrus and a suggestion of pineapple along with a complex mix of lees contact and malolactic characters displaying as nutty, creamy and savoury flavours. All this is presented on a bed of initially soft and slippery tannins that build to a satin, fresh, zippy and lingering finish, which will round out with age. 

The fruit for this wine was gently pressed and then transferred to barrel for full wild fermentation. 50% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation and 50% was matured in new French oak, with the remainder in one year old oak. A mix of coopers was used to ensure great complexity with integrated oak characters. The wine was matured in oak for 10 months prior to blending and bottling."  Holm Oak

Expert reviews

"The flagship Chardonnay from Holm Oak in the wonderful 2025 vintage in the Tamar Valley is mesmerising. Layers of fresh stone fruit flavours flood the palate and interlace with fine acidity and spicy French oak on the long, persistant finish. The signature traits are elegance, finesse and purity, but there is also a lovely creamy texture resulting from half the wine going through malolactic fermentation. A very impressive wine."  Nick Munday, Canterbury Wines - 97 points

"Composed and classy, I love this Chardonnay's swagger as it confidently strides out. The Wizard is Holm Oak's flagship white and it nails the brief. White-fleshed stonefruit leads supported by cashew and nougat notes that immediately add complexity. Lemon juice, canned pineapple and brioche weave effortlessly through the palate, while vanilla cream and caramel drops contribute a creamy richness without tipping the balance. The influence of malolactic fermentation (65%) and French oak (65% new) is thoughtfully handled, adding texture and depth rather than dominating the fruit.  Rather than chasing the chiselled, high-acid style of many modern Chardonnays, this builds a beautifully rounded palate shape that feels complete and oozes satisfaction. A grapefruit tang on the finish elevates the finish, keeping everything fresh and focused."  Steve Leszczynski, Qwine - 95 points

About the winery

Holm Oak is located just north of Launceston, in Tasmania's Tamar Valley. Holm Oak is a labour of love for winemaker Bec Duffy and her husband Tim Duffy, viticulturalist. Since 2007 they have followed their dream of crafting delicious expressions of cool-climate Tasmanian wines.

Bec Duffy has over 20 years winemaking experience in Australia and the US, while Tim Duffy, a third-generation grape grower and an agronomist with extensive viticultural experience, manages the vineyard, Their complementary skills drive their vision to produce delicious wines that reflect their home, Tasmania's pristine Tamar Valley, and their own personalities – honest, down to earth, genuine and authentic. 

Grape vines were planted in the rich and fertile land in 1983, making Holm Oak one of the older vineyards in Tasmania. Using the original Pinot Noir and Cabernet plantings, they now also cultivate Arneis, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. In total, Holm Oak has 12 hectares under vine.

Holm Oak is a full family affair overseen by general manager Pinot 'd' Pig. Like any good manager, Pinot the Pig wanders around keeping a close eye on the daily operations in the vineyards and winery. Pinot was supposed to be a miniature pig, however has grown to be a full-size team member, with a larger than life personality, and a keen eye (and nose) for detail. Every good manager however, has a weakness – if fed a couple of fresh apples, the worries of General Management fade away and Pinot is inclined to sleep on the job!

"Holm Oak in Tasmania's Tamar Valley gained its name from a planting of oak trees in the 1930s, intended to provide oak for tennis racquets. It came to nothing, and 50 years later 2ha of cabernet sauvignon and 0.4ha of pinot noir were planted.

In 2004 Ian and Robyn Wilson bought the property with a succession plan in place, their daughter Rebecca (Bec) already an experienced winemaker having worked on the mainland and in California. She arrived at Holm Oak in 2006, and the onsite winery was completed just in time for the 2007 vintage.

In the same year Bec's partner, agronomist Tim Duffy, arrived and they set about expanding the vineyard from 6a to 15ha; in pride of place is 7ha of pinot noir, with MV6 clone leading the census, plus D5V12, 114, 115, 777, D4V2 and 521. In 1991, 1ha of riesling had been planted; the balance now includes pinot gris (2ha), chardonnay (1.5ha) and arneis (0.3ha), with smaller plantings making up the remainder.

Prior to the completion of the winery, the wines had been competently contract-made. It's a very different story today, with shoot thinning, leaf plucking (on the western side) and removal of shoulder bunches of pinot noir (if needed). The partnership between winemaker and viticulturist has had multiple synergies, as success has followed success. Then there's the Southern Ocean, a vast air conditioner buffering the heat spikes that are part of summer in the southeastern corner of the mainland.

Sparkling wine used 37% of the total crush, which left pinot noir with 28%, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot gris in a three-way share of 8% each, riesling the remainder. One simple summary is sparkling, red and white wine, each with a third share. And Tamar Valley is the place to be, with almost 40% of the 2022 crush." James Halliday