This is quite clearly the least accomplished of the current release Medhurst Chardonnays. It feels unevenly ripe although I do welcome the shelter from the overt flavours of the middle-tiered release. A little truncated and lacking in flow. On the name; Matt Steel is not treading the iconoclastic path of attributing his logo to the least expensive expression of the variety…although I did have to check the website to make sure.
“The view from the Medhurst Winery is dominated by Steel’s Hill rising above the best vineyards of the Yarra Valley. The Medhurst Steel’s Hill range of wines is made from fruit grown in the Yarra Valley’s best vineyards.”
Pineapple and bitter herbs, grapefruit and melon. Has peaks of generous tropical flavour, a spine of controlled citrus and not much in the way of body or persistence. Sometimes contradictions entice, other times they show us why we value harmony and a cohesive form so much. This falls in the latter camp. Nonetheless it is still fair drinking. 87
Region: Yarra Valley
Alcohol: 12.8%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $25
Tasted: August 2013