This Chardonnay has fresh pear and lemon notes that combine with delicate white flowers. Lovely soft aromas of poached apple and marzipan evolve in the glass. Crisp, fresh and dry on the palate, the wine is tightly sprung then unwinds to reveal a citrus pith texture, wrapped around a fresh stone-fruit core.

This winery changed hands in May 2016, with one family company, Brown Brothers, taking it off the hands of another, its founder, Phil Sexton. So associated is Innocent Bystander with the Yarra Valley that the new owners decided to build a new cellar door in Healesville, just across the parking lot from Giant Steps, but the wines are now being made at the Brown Brothers winery in Milawa, just 200 kilometres north of the Yarra Valley. They quickly signed contracts with all of the grape growers that Phil used for Innocent Bystander, so that the style of the wines remains unchanged.

That style – wines that are regional and varietal, reflecting the soil, cool climate and topography of the Yarra Valley – has been the base upon which the reputation of Innocent Bystander has been built.

Chardonnay (100%)

Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grapes, thanks to its number of different styles. You’ll find everything from lean and chalky to rich, creamy and aged in oak, and even some of the world’s finest sparkling wine too.

Victoria