8 juil. 2025
Wine by Farr - 2023 New Releases
Wine by Farr is widely regarded as Australia's best Pinot Noir producer making wines that match and even surpass Burgundy but they make pretty good Chardonnay too. The below is an offer on the recently released 2023 vintage.
Wine By Farr
Located 100km southwest of Melbourne, in the Moorabool Valley, between Geelong and Ballarat. Gary and Robyn Farr purchased the original property in 1994 and added to it in 1998, buying land that had remained uncultivated and wild for several decades. Their son Nick, along with his wife Cassie, purchased additional land in 2011, linking the two original blocks. Today, the estate consists of 53 hectares, with 17 hectares under vine. The remainder of the estate is maintained for horse and cattle grazing.
The Farrs' meticulous attention to detail and exquisite wines reflect their long and fruitful careers in some of the world’s top estates. Gary was head winemaker at Bannockburn, having also worked at Calera, while both he and Nick, who today runs the By Farr estate and makes the wines, have worked extensively at Domaine Dujac, Cristom, and Au Bon Climat, to name a few.
Nick was named ‘Winemaker of the Year’ by Gourmet Traveller Wine in 2020, following in the footsteps of his father, who won the same award in 2001. They are the only father and son duo to receive this prestigious accolade.
By Farr is celebrated for its single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, which have brought fame to sites such as 'Sangreal,' 'Tout Près,' 'Farrside,' and 'Côte Vineyard.' The estate also produces a Viognier, largely considered one of Australia’s finest, and a Shiraz of equal merit. As with the top Burgundy domaines, production volumes are low, and the wines are highly sought after.
“Every year, in any list, Geelong’s By Farr winery is one of the first picked...There is, simply, no such thing as a boring By Farr wine”
Campbell Mattinson, October 2023, WineCompanion.com.au
The Wines
Wine | Vintage | Pack | CASE PRICE IB | Inv VAT |
Geelong Chardonnay | 2023 | 6x75cl | £305.00 | £387.60 |
`GC` Cote Vineyard Geelong Chardonnay | 2023 | 6x75cl | £430.00 | £537.60 |
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`Farrside` Geelong Pinot Noir | 2022 | 6x75cl | £300.00 | £381.60 |
`Tout Pres` Geelong Pinot Noir | 2022 | 6x75cl | £430.00 | £537.60 |
`Sangreal` Geelong Pinot Noir | 2022 | 6x75cl | £355.00 | £447.60 |
`RP` Geelong Pinot Noir | 2022 | 6x75cl | £430.00 | £537.60 |
Tasting notes
GEELONG CHARDONNAY 2023
97 Points – Huon Hooke, October 2024, RealReview.com
“Bright, medium-yellow hue; restrained nutty, creamy, faintly buttery and lightly toasted bread aromas, a touch of 'milk bottle' confectionery. The palate is taut and tensioned, with vibrant acidity and subtle lemon/grapefruit and pear aromas, the lemony fruit and acidity driving it to a long finish. Bright and nervy: a more delicate and reserved style of chardonnay for this region and producer, and promises to have a long and bright career”
‘GC’ GEELONG CHARDONNAY 2023
98 points – Huon Hooke, May 2025, The Real Review
“Bright and shiny light to mid yellow colour; roasted hazelnut and lemon curd aromas, a suggestion of marzipan or almond. The wine is intense and precise on the palate, beautifully focused and concentrated yet with great poise and finesse, the finish powering long with a cleansing, refreshing follow-through. Beautiful chardonnay, with great potential.”
‘FARRSIDE’ GEELONG PINOT NOIR 2022
94 Points – Huon Hooke, October 2024, RealReview.com
“Medium depth ruby, bright with purple reflections; the bouquet a mix of red cherry, smoky savoury notes, root vegetables and vanilla. Stalky nuances are there but tucked more in the background. The wine is rich and full in the mouth with generosity and ample, mouth-coating tannins which are fine, ripe and supple. A slighty less-varietal pinot but a wine of real substance”
‘SANGREAL’ GEELONG PINOT NOIR 2022
96 Points – Huon Hooke, October 2024, RealReview.com
“Medium depth red with a tinge of purple and aromas of crushed stalks giving a dusty peppery, celery salt bouquet. Traces of Campari and root vegetables. The wine is medium weighted and finely structured with talcy tannins and a lovely clean, resolved finish that rolls on and on. Real elegance here”
‘TOUT PRÈS’ GEELONG PINOT NOIR 2022
98 points – Huon Hooke, May 2025, The Real Review
“Deep and bright, youthful colour with lots of purple in the rim and great limpidity. The first aroma is of root vegetables, potato and parsnip, gradually giving way to rich ripe dark cherry that floods the palate with succulent sweet fruit flavour and beautifully balanced fine-grained tannins. The tannins provide a backbone and a counter-balance to all that opulent fruit. A totally impressive and convincing pinot noir. It has wow factor.”
‘RP’GEELONG PINOT NOIR 2022
99 points – Huon Hooke, May 2025, The Real Review
“Impressively deep, bright red-purple colour, in great shape for an Australian pinot of its age, then the bouquet arrives with a great complexity of smoked charcuterie, root vegetables, dark cherry and blackberry delivered with great intensity and volume. The concentration and depth are outstanding and it's all delivered with great elegance and refinement. The lightness of touch doesn't contradict the power or persistence. A spectacular pinot noir.”
All the best,
James