Ghost Rock Oulton Chardonnay 2024 is a taut, worked Chardonnay from the single Oulton vineyard at Northdown on Tasmania's Cradle Coast, where clone 95 fruit is grown on the estate's lowest and most sheltered site. Barrel fermentation in 30 per cent new French oak gives it a nutty, creamy layer, while the cool northern Tasmanian growing conditions keep the acid line long and bright.

Grapefruit pith, white nectarine and lemon curd lead the aroma, with toasted almond and nougat sitting behind the fruit rather than over it. A little flint and oyster shell lifts as the wine opens in the glass. The palate is fine-boned and quite linear, with lees work adding a soft, oatmeal-like weight through the middle without blunting the drive. Partial malolactic fermentation rounds the edges, then acidity reasserts itself and carries a saline, chalky finish well past the fruit.

Pour the Oulton Chardonnay with roast chicken and tarragon, seared scallops, a gruyère tart, or Tasmanian rock lobster with drawn butter. It has enough texture for richer fish such as ocean trout, and the acidity to cut through a bowl of pasta with cream and lemon. Drinking well now with an hour's air or a decant, and this 2024 should hold and gain toasty complexity for another six to eight years in a cool, dark spot.