# The Wizard Chardonnay (2024)

- **Producer:** Holm Oak
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Chardonnay
- **Region:** Tasmania, Australia
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 12.5%
- **Average price:** €41
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** peach, nectarine, pineapple, lemon, blossom, vanilla, butter, cream, toast, pastry, cinnamon, ginger, honey

## About this wine

The Wizard is the flagship Chardonnay from Holm Oak, located in the cool-climate Tamar Valley of Tasmania. The wine pays homage to a unique piece of local history: in the 1920s and 30s, the property was intended to grow timber for the Alexander Patent Racquet Company. While that venture failed, the estate named its top-tier wines after the company's legendary 'Wizard' tennis racquet, famously used by Australian champion Jack Crawford to win Wimbledon in 1933. Crafted by winemaker Rebecca Duffy, this wine deliberately avoids the ultra-lean modern style, offering an unapologetically generous, rounded, and mouth-filling expression of Tasmanian Chardonnay.

## Interesting facts

- Named after the famous Cressy 'Wizard' flat-top wooden tennis racquet used by Jack Crawford to win Wimbledon in 1933.
- The Holm Oak property was originally purchased in the 1930s to grow ash and oak trees for tennis racquet manufacturing.
- Sourced from the estate's oldest Chardonnay blocks in Rowella, planted on the fertile banks of the Tamar River.

## Food pairing

The wine's rich, creamy texture and vibrant acidity make it a perfect match for rich seafood, poultry, and creamy or earthy dishes. The electric acidity cuts through fat, while the oak-derived creaminess complements buttery and roasted flavors.

## Wine making process

Sourced from the estate's oldest Chardonnay blocks in Rowella, the grapes were hand-harvested in mid-March 2024. The fruit was gently whole-bunch pressed and transferred directly to barrel for fermentation using 100% wild, native yeasts. To build complexity and texture, exactly 50% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation (MLF). The wine was aged for 10 months in a curated selection of French oak barrels (50% new and 50% one-year-old) with regular lees stirring (bâtonnage) before being bottled under screwcap in February 2025.