This is some very clever Chardonnay. Hand-picked grapes, wild yeast fermentation, whole bunch pressing, lees stirring. Everything in the winemakers kitbag tricks for making Chardy with complexity and flavour. But, importantly, the Varney Chardonnay spends just seven months in oak which gives this wine an extra lift of energy and freshness. Grapefruit, green apple, chalk and then this lovely clean finish.

As Alan Varney says, it all started as a ‘tonne for fun’. For many years, Alan was a winemaker for other people and decided a decade or so ago to make a little wine on the side from his favourite vineyards in McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. One thing led to another, and by 2019, Alan had a winery in McLaren Vale making a swag of fun vino! The Varney Wines lineup is properly eclectic, too, spanning everything from local Arinto (a Portuguese grape that apparently loves the heat of McLaren Vale), Vermentino, Grenache and Mencia right through to Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, Syrah and Nebbiolo. Alan's wines are typically generous but never feel like they're heavy, with that array of fun Mediterranean grapes making for all sorts of savoury textures.