Murdoch Hill has been in the Downer family since 1939 but vines were first planted here only in 1998. The farm is on the eastern side of the Adelaide Hills in the Onkaparinga Valley, with 21 hectares of vineyard on shallow red loam soils packed with schist and limestone and up to 516 metres above sea level. Since taking over the winemaking reins in 2012, Michael Downer has taken the farm’s wines to similar heights. Premium vineyards from the Lobethal district, Oakbank and the Piccadilly Valley were selected for this Chardonnay. Each small parcel provides a different profile giving an overall complex wine. The fruit was handpicked then kept in cold storage at two degrees for several days. The fruit is whole bunch and whole berry pressed straight to barrel with a mix of barriques, puncheons and foudre with 15% new oak.