A fresh and vivacious chardonnay with lemon and lime citrus and honey notes on the bouquet. The wine retains its freshness on the palate but this is balanced by typical chardonnay texture and lingering flavours. Subtle use of French oak contributes to the fine structure, making it a perfect foil to the richness of shellfish.
Philip Murphy Estate was established in 2004 by Philip and Jennifer Murphy. Situated on a beautiful five acre property with stunning views of Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait, it lies 200 metres above sea level on the Mornington Peninsula in Southern Victoria. Philip, who has had a lifelong love of red and white Burgundy and spent the first thirty years of his career as a leading wine retailer in Melbourne, planted both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both of which are ideally suited to this cool climate with its Mediterranean influence. The vineyard is close planted in the Burgundian tradition with 8000 vines per hectare. Cropping levels are deliberately kept very low with typical harvests of 1.5 tonnes per acre. Philip takes meticulous care of the vineyard and ensures that it is disease free. He utilises vertical shoot positioning for the trellis which he feels maximises sunlight into the canopy. Two clones of Chardonnay are utilised, Mendoza and P58 and three clones of Pinot, 777, 115 and MV6. The wines are all vinified on the Estate by Philip who has recently completed his Bachelor of Wine Science degree at Charles Sturt University. All wines are naturally fermented with wild yeasts and are aged in new French oak barriques for eighteen months. The wines are then released after a further six months bottle maturation. The label depicts the vineyard with its lovely avenue of pencil pines leading up to the house and winery. The Chardonnay label also carries the name of Philip’s wife Jennifer who was instrumental in encouraging him to embark on this venture.
