Lake Breeze Reserve Chardonnay 2024

The Follett family arrived at Langhorne Creek in the 1880s when Arthur John Follett — Greg Follett's great-grandfather — established the Fairholme mixed farm and married Alice Fairweather there in 1890. The property worked across cattle, sheep, dairy and a small block of grapevines through three generations of Folletts, with the original plantings being the old workhorse varieties used for Australian fortified wine production: palomino, doradillo, muscat. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the family replanted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and (later) Chardonnay — the varietal shift that defined modern South Australian table wine.

The first Lake Breeze branded wine was made in 1987, marking the family's transition from grape grower for established South Australian wine companies to producer in their own name. Greg Follett, the fourth-generation Follett, is the current winemaker; the estate now spans the Fairholme home block plus surrounding family-owned vineyards in the Langhorne Creek GI. Langhorne Creek's terroir is distinctive within South Australia: alluvial soils flooded historically each winter by the Bremer and Angas Rivers, with cooling sea breezes from Lake Alexandrina and the Coorong. The microclimate produces softer-tannin, generous-fruit reds compared with the firmer Barossa or McLaren Vale equivalents.

The Lake Breeze range tiers across three labels. The standard Lake Breeze line covers Cabernet Sauvignon, Section 54 Shiraz (named for the original 54-acre vineyard block), Bernoota (the Cabernet-Shiraz blend), Reserve Chardonnay, Pecorino (an Italian varietal grown experimentally in Langhorne Creek), Malbec, Moscato, Rosato. Arthur's Reserve is the top-tier Cabernet expression named for the family founder. The Bullant by Lake Breeze sub-label covers entry-tier Cabernet-Merlot, Shiraz and Chardonnay for broader by-the-glass and supermarket-tier distribution.

Roast chicken, grilled crustacean, hard cheeses; a working Reserve Chardonnay for cellar lists running South Australian whites.