Usher Tinkler 'Paperwasp' Chardonnay 2024

The new Hunter Chardonnay style — restrained, savoury, fine oak handling. Citrus, oatmeal, white peach. Punches well above its price.

Paperwasp is a single vineyard in Pokolbin, 1.6 hectares of Chardonnay planted in 1985 on sandy loam. The vines are past 35 years old. The name comes from the paper wasps that nest in the canopy around hand harvest, which the pickers know all about.

The fruit is hand-picked and part whole-bunch pressed, then fermented in barrel on a mix of wild and cultured yeast. Only 10 percent of the French oak is new, the rest one to six years old. The wine spends eight months there with the lees stirred monthly. Just 15 percent goes through malolactic, which keeps the acid line intact. That is where the restraint comes from.

Qwine's review of the 2024 found yellow peach, yellow grapefruit and a crème brûlée richness, with ginger spice on the finish. Usher suggests drinking it now or any time over the next ten years.