Luke and Rosalind are loving these long, La Niña-influenced seasons. 2023 was the latest in a trio of cool, low-yielding and late-harvesting seasons in the Yarra Valley, and the conditions played right into the hands of Lambert and his partner. After years of working with the Denton site, the pair have enough experience to know that in years like this, flavour arrives late. In the end, they delayed harvest until 7th March, four weeks later than in the equally cool 2022 vintage. “We’re happy we waited until we did,” Luke told us. “There’s a lot of flavour.” There’s a whole lot of quality, too. Channelling the unique granite soils of the Denton site, Lambert’s minimalistic Chardonnay combines fleshy, pulpy citrus with the thrilling rocky minerality and mouth-watering tension associated with these talented winemakers. In the red corner, Luke has found a new dimension with Syrah from Denton. The doyen of Californian Syrah, Pax Mahle, told us he recently picked blind a Lambert Syrah as a top-level Côte-Rôtie. This gives you an idea of the vivid, savoury Rhône-like appeal Luke craves in his wine. On the other, it reminds us how lucky we are to have such a gifted winemaker on our doorstep. The captivating new release is, quite possibly, even better than the excellent 2022. Time will tell. Either way, both releases are buzzing with life and place and deserve their billing as two of the Yarra’s most exciting wines.