The Merricks Chardonnay, from 27-year-old vines on soils of grey loams and red ferrosols on south- and southeast-facing slopes, was harvested and sorted by hand before being pressed as whole bunches. Fermentation was spontaneous with high levels of solids in 500-litre François Frères puncheons. A small portion went through natural malolactic conversion, and the wine rested on full gross lees for nine months before bottling. Barney seeks slow and long lees interaction, choosing extended, gentle contact over stirring. He has now entirely shifted his Chardonnay vinification to thick-stave, large-format wood, with new oak playing an increasingly limited role. “I see a slower evolution with the thicker staves,” he told us. “Things are more subtle, and it allows me to get closer to my ideal style.”

It’s a knockout: punchy, pure, intensely flavoured and wildly delicious, with serious horsepower impressively contained. This is a Chardonnay of great pedigree and substance, and as good a Merricks as we have tasted (with all this entails). Another don’t-miss.

Certified organic. After years of working in the region, Jeff Byrne’s little black book of quality fruit contacts in Orange is packed, but he does have his favourites. This is the fifth release of Byrne Farm Chardonnay, and the fruit source has remained the same since year one. For this wine, Jeff works with three plots of almost 30-year-old vines (some of the oldest in the region) within the Balmoral block at Nashdale. Perched on the northeast-facing slope of Mount Canobolas at a lofty 880 metres, these old vines are rooted in volcanic chocolate ferrosol soils. 

The 2024 season saw a break in the cool trend of the preceding three years in Orange. A warm spring with some well-timed showers meant canopies were full and healthy going into summer. The mercury tipped above 30 degrees a dozen or so times, so picking came earlier with full phenological ripeness – no easy feat in this proper cool climate! The fruit was picked by hand in late February and was gently pressed as bunches to 500-litre puncheons for fermentation. The wine matured for nine months with monthly stirring to build texture and breadth. Malolactic conversion was avoided to preserve the alluring white stone fruit purity in this warmer year. Jeff is delighted with the results. “There’s heaps of flavour, with the hallmark mineral acidity of Orange,” he told us. As is always the case with this talented maker’s wines, there’s serious bang for your buck here.

Bondar has made its incisive Chardonnay from the same vineyard in the Adelaide Hills since 2013. The source is the 30-year-old Rathmine vineyard in Echunga, which sits at 450 metres on stony, shallow clay loam over a limestone base. The fruit comes from the steep, east-facing slope planted with the Bernard 76 clone.

All of Bondar’s fruit is handpicked in the cool of the early morning, whole bunch-pressed and fermented naturally in older French oak, with one new Stockinger foudre accounting for approximately 25% of the blend. Bondar does not cool the fermentation to encourage mouthfeel and nutty, complex flavours. The picture is completed by full malolactic conversion and no stirring of the lees to preserve fruit purity. From the cool, late 2023 harvest, it’s perhaps the most coiled and bracing Chardonnay Bondar has released to date. Yet there’s so much fine texture and savoury flavour to balance the wine’s highwire energy. 

Fruit for the 2022 Tilbury was sourced from the Lenswood Vineyard (80%) with the balance coming from the usual Piccadilly and Lobethal growers that have previously contributed to this wine. The style of the fruit from the Lenswood site is more open and generous, providing a beautiful contrast to the linear and tight nature of the Piccadilly and Lobethal material. Its fruit is from own-rooted I10v1 clone vines planted in 1989 and Bernard 76 and 95 clones planted in the early 2000s. The Lobethal site is close to 500m of elevation and has soils that are loaded with ironstone, contributing fruit with a classic flinty expression and powerful drive. The Piccadilly soils are varied, with sandstone, sandy loam and ironstone.

The fruit was hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed into French puncheons, barriques and some Stockinger vessels for fermentation (about 40% new wood this year). The wine went through full malolactic conversion and had some light lees stirring over eight months' maturation.

The Lenswood stamp is clear as day; open, generous and powerful fruit flavours are bridled by a muscular frame, precise acidities, compact structure and some bold length. It’s a wine of energy with just the right amount of reduction, complexity and plenty of malo generosity to keep you tethered to the glass. An exciting new chapter indeed!

Organic. Voyager Estate’s superb Chardonnay has all the presence, elegance and purity of fruit we expect from this renowned producer. In particular, it reflects the cooler climate of the Wallcliffe sub-region and, more precisely, the Stevens Valley—arguably Margaret River’s finest Chardonnay zone. The area is characterised by gentle slopes of red/brown gravelly soils over stony clay. Influenced by cooling breezes from the nearby Indian Ocean, it’s a superb mesoclimate for Chardonnay, and the Voyager team pulls out all the stops to deliver on this promise.

The vineyard comprises six blocks planted to four different clones of Chardonnay, each bringing different nuances to the wine. This includes the well-known Gingin clone, which brings power and concentration, and Dijon clones 95, 96 and 76, which offer a more restrained flavour profile and contribute wonderful texture, finesse and freshness.

The fruit was harvested by hand, cooled overnight, then pressed as whole bunches, and transferred to French oak barriques for spontaneous fermentation. Selected parcels went through malolactic conversion. The lion’s share of the wine aged for nine months in oak barriques and was stirred regularly. A small portion of the wine (20%) matured in concrete for its final three months before blending.

Meadowbank’s Chardonnay yields were down considerably in 2023, yet quality and concentration were through the roof—so much so that Peter Dredge puts this year’s release up there with the very best he’s made. This comes off the property’s oldest vines, which are P58 clone and well into their 30s. Peter Dredge describes the vineyard as a “beautiful little spot” with loose sand and sandstone overlaying dark brown coffee rock rich in iron oxides. The fruit was picked over two passes at slightly different ripeness levels, ensuring sufficient acidity to balance the ripe-leaning nature of the clone. The fruit was pressed as whole bunches to French puncheons for fermentation. This year, Pete upped the percentage of new wood (20%) to balance the density of the fruit from this low-yielding year.

In the classical Meadowbank mould, it’s focused and chiselled with a rocky palate layered with citrus, white flowers and crunchy stone fruits, all pulled taut by that mouth-watering, cool-climate acidity. Dredge’s superb winemaking has drawn out a cracker this year, right down the tapered, pulpy finish teeming with slaty drive, Va va voom. 

Toolangi’s F Block is a one-hectare plot perched on the highest, easternmost sector of the 11-hectare Dixon’s Creek vineyard. Nestled in the corner, within touching distance of the Toolangi State Forest to the northeast and in the afternoon shadow of a large hill to the south, it’s a well-sheltered plot. This position helps preserve the high levels of natural acidity critical to maintaining balance from a site famed for powerful flavour. The soils are shallow and rocky, with more white clay than lower down, which Kaspar Hermann credits with the wine’s sculpted, chalky personality. Yields are always low, rarely providing more than seven or eight barrels, and in this poor flowering year, Hermann had enough for just five. The 19-year-old vines are Gingin clone and produce thick-skinned, full-throated fruit with plenty of spicy nuance and phenolic structure.

F Block Chardonnay is Hermann’s favourite wine to make; he even prunes the block himself. Pressed as whole bunches to oak (20%) for fermentation with full solids, the wine underwent partial malolactic conversion (60%) and matured for nine months on lees in barrel before bottling. Once again, Hermann has struck an exciting balance between depth, texture and finesse. It’s a wonderfully aromatic Chardonnay, evoking floral-accented stone fruits, wispy reduction and a warming spice mix. The palate is fleshy and powerfully structured with a seam of salty minerals and citrus zest on the long, coiled, chalky finish. This is another formidable release for Kaspar & Co.

Named after daughter Allegra, this is Maree Collis and Ray Nadeson’s flagship Chardonnay. They source the fruit for the Allegra Chardonnay from the historic Rebenberg vineyard in Mount Duneed. Located 10 kilometres southwest of Geelong, the vineyard was initially planted in 1858 and replanted in 1968 by Ken and Joy Campbell. The Chardonnay vines are now almost 50 years old (planted in 1981, making them some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in Geelong). They are rooted in gravel and quartz soil and give extremely low yields of less than 12 hl/ha. These low yields and old vines go some way to explain how the Rebenberg vineyard always delivers “fruit of incredible density and acid”, according to Ray.

Fruit for the 2018 Allegra was picked by hand and pressed as whole bunches before barrel fermentation. The wine underwent full malolactic conversion and matured for 11 months in new oak, which Ray says allows “the oak tannins to frame the wine”. The wine then aged in bottle for a further three years before release. Lethbridge and Chardonnay are a match made in heaven, and here we have exhibit A.