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The fruit comes from a single block of Gingin clone Chardonnay (92%) and a small adjacent plot of Aligoté (8%). Blind Corner’s 150 or so 10-year-old Aligoté vines are believed to be Margaret River’s only plot of this variety, and Gould is slowly grafting over more Chardonnay to bulk out the plantings.

The Chardonnay block is very low-yielding, and the vines are over 20 years old. The fruit was pressed to a combination of stainless steel (75%) and concrete egg (25%) for fermentation. Malolactic conversion occurred in the same vessels, and the wine was left to rest for 12 months on lees before bottling.

It only received a rough filtering to “keep the wine as close to the vineyard as possible,” as Gould puts it. From a killer vintage, it’s bustlingly bright and pulpy with racy texture and delicious, sappy length. A whole lot of wine for the price.

Like your favourite comedian, this wine has a wonderfully dry delivery and flavourful punchline that will send your tastebuds into the giggles. It’s Chardonnay base offers a full-body mouthfeel, with the Aligoté adding citrus notes for a subtle tang.

“Aligoté is a lesser-known white grape from Burgundy, a region where chardonnay is king. Traditionally the two grapes were inter-planted in the vineyards there, the higher acidity of the aligoté balancing the richness of the chardonnay. Ben Gould of Margaret River winery Blind Corner is one of very few people to grow aligoté in Australia, and he uses it to similar effect in this wine, adding crisp, almost herbal tartness to the ripe, sun-kissed golden textural qualities of wild-fermented chardonnay.”

It is made from a single block of wild-fermented Chardonnay, which is slowly being overtaken by Aligoté grafts, all wild fermented in barrel and rough filtered to bottle, keeping the wine as close to the vineyard as possible. Easily the best (ahem, only) Chardonnay Aligoté from Margaret River in the last 100 years.