Ossa

Chardonnay 2020

Not much of this in the world, around 2000 bottles. But does it leave a mark...goodness. Power, yet finesse. Balance. Sweet oak spice, smoke and sea salt, dig through to the core of stone fruit and pristine acidity. Roasted hazelnut, margarita and ripe melon. Lip smacking.

Ossa is an intriguing new project from Rob and Cecile Roberts, based down in Tasmania. They both came from farming families, and were working in agriculture themselves, but a grape growing pursuit is a new venture for the couple. Their farm is entirely “off-grid” and entirely carbon neutral in their operation, a rarity in Australian agriculture. For the Ossa label, they decided to produce only wines of the very highest quality, selling the rest of the fruit off.

Starting with the grape inputs, they were determined to bottle in their own-brand Ossa wine label only those grapes which meet very exacting, quality standards. For example, there may be some years where a particular wine type is not bottled under the Ossa brand. Of the 2021 vintage, only around 10% of the harvest was selected for the Ossa label. Wildly small production, you can see the finesse and detail and quality shine through.