For this release, the Origines boys drew from a Chardonnay block at 960m in the NSW New England Highlands. What an ultra-pure and refined cool-climate wine it is, too. Whipped bitter oak and lees characters, then a very tight and delicate palate of taut acidity and crystalline freshness. It's a cliché, but this is about as close to Chablis' racy delicacy as Australia ever gets.

Famously, there are more people who have been into space than Masters of Wine, making it one of the hardest qualifications to achieve on the planet. It is little wonder that Alex Beckett and Jan Taborsky shared some heartache while trying to pass.... Out of hardship, however, came the Origines project—a micro-scale wine business dedicated solely to cool-climate New South Wales Chardonnay. Devoting your life to Chardonnay takes a very particular philosophy, but Alex & Jan make it very simple, intending to 'capture every aspect of the grape in each glass'. That means hand picking, wild fermentations, whole bunch pressing, long ageing in fine Austrian oak and no fining or filtration. And the wines? It's very early doors, but these are some of the most refined and delicate Chardonnay releases you'll see just about anywhere in the southern hemisphere...