Ripe time, right place

There’s been a sea change in Australian Chardonnay, from the big, buttery, often rather oaky styles of the 1980s and ’90s to the lower-alcohol, finer, less oaky and more age-worthy wines of today. Today’s more delicate, and generally, better wines are often made by winemakers avoiding enriching malolactic fermentation. However, the biggest change has been the sourcing of fruit. Today’s best Chardonnays come from much cooler vineyards. But has the pendulum swung too far? asks Huon Hooke in the Sydney Morning Herald.