“Flinty, fine, cool-climate Chardonnay.” - The Australian Wine Companion, 96 points

We love a side project, because it’s often the genus of something bright and beautiful, like a sun spot, breaking away from its star. Lowboi is the side project of Guy Lyons, the winemaker at Forrest Hill, and if this is the shape of things to come, then it’s time to shiver with antici… pation. It’s a sensational debut. Tender white-fleshed fruits cut with a dash of lime define the nose, but it’s the palate that really sets the pulse racing with apricot and grapefruit preserve, orange peel and millefeuille pastry. This is serious modern Australian Chardonnay, finely tailored, understated in terms of oak, impressively energetic in terms of fruit and utterly delicious. We tasted it alongside hundreds of Australian Chardonnays and it was on a par with Tolpuddle from Tasmania and Shaw and Smith’s Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay in terms of sheer panache and downright deliciousness. It’s not cheap, but quality comes from hard graft and you can taste the determination to make something outstanding. Bravo! 13% alc. Drink now-2028.

The Australian Wine Companion: “Fruit from the Springviews vineyard, on the southern side of the range, planted in 1985. Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, full solids to barrel (15%), wild ferment, partial malo-lactic fermentation. There is something very special about the Springviews vineyard site, and this wine. Flinty, fine, cool-climate Chardonnay here, with layers of curry leaf, brine, citrus pith, white peach, nectarine, cap gun and fennel flower. The phenolics have a jasmine tea character to them, and cradle the fruit in the cups of their hands, all the way across the palate and into a long finish.” 96 points (Gold Medal)

Roger Jones (The Buyer): “This is bright and funky, full of life and excitement, made by Guy Lyons the winemaker at Forrest Hill. New forward-thinking Chardonnay that delivers, it’s exciting with racy flavours.”

Decanter: “A real discovery at January’s annual Australia Trade Tasting in London. From the Porongurup sub-region of Great Southern, this is wild-yeast fermented in barrel and aged for 12 months in 10% new oak, revealing aromas and flavours of ripe yellow peach and crushed herbs on a soft, caressing palate backed by bright acidity. Understated and delicious. Drink 2020-2025.” 92 points

The Wine Advocate (other vintage): “Gently reductive, spicy and leads with notes of crushed pistachio and cashew, curry leaf and yellow peach. This has a structural minerality that tightens the screws on the perception of acidity and freshness, and the fruit feels both delicate and floral. This is exceptional. Winemaker Guy Lyons is on a roll currently; the wines have never been better. There are notes of dried herbs—rosemary and a hint oregano—with sweet tobacco and caper brine. This is quite epic. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.” 96 points