Southern Light Vineyards Ghostgum Chardonnay 2022

Southern Light Vineyards craft wines of individuality from three cool-climate vineyards in the Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. The evocativally named Ghostgum Vineyard is situated in Main Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula and is one of the highest elevation vineyards on the Peninsula at 174m above sea level. The 5.5 hectare vineyard, first planted between 1990-1995, is planted solely to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

"A relatively new operation out of Mornington Peninsula, the Main Ridge sub-region, which is producing some seriously good wines. The wine is beautifully fragrant. There is oak but it is so well integrated that it is almost invisible. We have notes of figs, lemon curd, stonefruits and white peaches followed by appealing touches of oatmeal on the palate. Fine vibrant acidity runs the length, which is seriously impressive. Love it."  Ken Gargett

"The Ghostgum Vineyard Chardonnay is highly perfumed with fresh sage leaf, white peach, and nashi pear; there is a subtle undercurrent of brioche bun, almond meal, and struck match, characteristic of oak maturation. A touch of lemon curd on the nose follows through to the palate which has a strong citrus core, showing lime, mandarin and orange peel. It has an acid drive that goes for days, with a wet rock minerality to close. Once again, a wine full of energy and poise which will benefit further with bottle age for years to come. 

Cloudy juice was transferred to 300L Fremch oak barrels (20%) new for indigenous fermentation. Post sugar fermentation, some of the barrels were sulphured and stored away in the cold barrel store to prevent malo-lactic fermentation, thus retaining some of that electric acid. A portion of barrels (around 30%) were kept in a warmer part of the winery and left un-sulphured to encourage malo which lowers the acid and adds texture to the wine. The final blend utilises both these components to create a more complex wine. Clone I10V1."  Southern Light Vineyards

Expert reviews

"A composed offering with a balance of flavours from grapefruit and lemon to white peach, with tangy acidity, oak spice and a fine layer of creamy lees. It is also a savoury wine, moreish and refreshing thanks to its fine acidity. It feels effortless, and certainly so to drink, and buoyant thanks to its citrusy tang on the finish, yet is all about texture. This is good. Very good. Drink by 2030."  Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points

"A relatively new operation out of Mornington Peninsula, the Main Ridge sub-region, which is producing some seriously good wines. The Chardonnay vineyard was originally planted between 1990 and 1995 – total vineyard size, on an east-facing slope, is just 5.5 hectares. Fermentation is with wild yeasts in 300-litre French oak, 20% new. Partial malolactic fermentation is encouraged. Yellow straw in colour, the wine is beautifully fragrant. There is oak but it is so well integrated that it is almost invisible. We have notes of figs, lemon curd, stonefruits and white peaches followed by appealing touches of oatmeal on the palate. Fine vibrant acidity runs the length, which is seriously impressive. Love it. Enjoy over the next five to eight years. Drink: 2024-2032."  Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot - 95 points

"Great review here. Spot on. Creamy lactic things and brisk acidity underlying, saline notes, green apple strength, pink grapefruit, balance and drive and freshness. Vibrant and cool. It does a lot. Winner."  Mike Bennie, The Wine Front

"This has the texture, flavour and length to thrill. Leesy, creamy, floral characters run into grapefruit, lemon curd, white peach and citrus, with almond paste characters tucked well within. The flavours are both harmonious and intense, not to mention attractive, but the calling card of this wine is in its momentum, and texture. It flows, and it feels good as it does. Drink: 2024-2030+."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 94 points

Ghostgum vineyard

Situated atop Main Ridge in Boon Wurrung Country on the Mornington Peninsula, this site is one of the highest elevation vineyards on the Peninsula at approximately 174m above sea level. Traditionally the property was orchard land – mostly cherries and apples – before being turned to vegetable growing and cattle grazing in the later part of the 20th century.

The vineyard is planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on a gentle, east-facing slope. Vines were first planted between 1990-1995, which form part of the current 5.5 hectare vineyard today. The Pinot Noir comprises four blocks planted to clones 115, 777, D2V5 and MV6, while the Chardonnay is planted to clone I10V1.

The vineyard soils are red ferrosols – deep, friable, and porous red soils that can also retain enough water to avoid having to use irrigation. These soils are basalt derived where the odd 'buckshot' chunk of ironstone can still be found. ​

About the winery

"Southern Light Vineyards was born out of the desire to craft wines of individuality from some of Victoria’s best cool-climate vineyards. Part of Joval Family Wines, this project is the culmination of our 40 years’ experience in wine and is led by a small team of people with a shared passion for hand-crafted wines made without compromise.

We grow grapes in the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley. Each of our three sites are unique, but the common thread among them is vineyard diversity. Whether we are referring to vine age, clonal selection, aspect, altitude, or exposure – diversity plays a key role in creating wines of depth and complexity. 

We firmly believe that all great wine is crafted from the ground up. Each block of the vineyard is hand-picked and managed gently from vineyard through to press, and blocks are fermented and matured separately until blending.

Southern Light Vineyards’ winery is in Healesville, in the Yarra Valley region of Victoria. It sits amongst a historical vineyard site that has been growing vines for over 40 years. The winery itself is built for small batch processing which helps us to produce wine of high quality. All batches are matured separately on site in distinct cool and warm rooms to manage fermentation.

We select barrels from some of the finest French coopers which allow the fruit to really shine; we’re not aiming for a big, woody imprint on the wines. We use new oak to lift the fruit and help carry it to the finish, adding length and line.

Our first release will be the 2021 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Ghostgum Vineyard. Situated atop Main Ridge in Boon Wurrung Country on the Mornington Peninsula, this site is one of the highest elevation vineyards on the Peninsula at approximately 174m above sea level. Here we farm just 5.5 hectares of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on a gentle, east-facing slope.

These wines are made to speak of place, and are reflections of the high-altitude, cool and windy site where the grapes are grown. This is balanced out beautifully with a long growing season with plenty of sunshine which is typical of the Mornington Peninsula’s maritime climate.

With only 500 cases made between both wines in 2021, this truly is a passion project with a no compromise approach. In future, we’ll also look to release wines grown from our Yarra Valley vineyards, but for now, we’re very excited about the release of Ghostgum."  Southern Light Vineyards