Stimulated by the refreshing maritime winds of Port Phillip Bay, the propitious vines at Cornelius Vineyard yield a precious harvest of the most splendid Chardonnay with every vintage. Crushed into a costly selection of the finest French oak for a luxurious course of barrel ferments, Victoria's answer to Chablis, a big boned Chardonnay style of macadamia, match stick and mineral. Solidly structured and intense, a seamless integration of white peach, calvados and custard cream, fruit, acid and oak in magnificent balance, a long and lingering palate of multi dimensional richness.

$5599each $671DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Kevin John Cullen was a passionate believer in the quality of Margaret River wines and particularly for the potential to achieve one of the world's great Chardonnay growing regions. He established the International Chardonnay Tasting, now in its third decade, to enable the efforts of Margaret River to be compared alongside the best vintages from around the world. Kevin John anticipated that the lessons learned from these comparisons would inspire his winemaking team to optimise the quality of Chardonnay grapes grown to the Cullen estate vineyards.

$12999each $1559DOZEN EACH DOZEN Diane Madeline has found her oenological paramour. Kevin John is named after the estate patriarch and shares provenance with the most stately Margaret River Chardonnay. Grapes are picked at ideal physiological ripeness, after achieving healthy profiles of natural sugars. Acid levels in the fruit grown by Cullen are remarkable, with low pH and fine balance, making any additions for adjustment unnecessary. Chardonnay is harvested around the full moon to a cycle in accordance with the best biodynamic practices. Grapes are whole bunch pressed and spontaneously fermented in French oak barriques, two thirds of which are new, followed by partial malolactic and five months maturation.

Brilliant straw colour with green tinges. Already complex, combining delightfully fresh citrus, paw paw, matchstick, gardenia and almond aromas. Complex, cultivated and engaging palate, the fresh vibrant citrus flavours and attractive minerality lead into a crisp lingering and long finish that's characterised by refined acidity. Delicious, elegant, pure and intense, a Chardonnay of great personality and charm to accompany crustacea and supreme de volaille.

$59999each $7199DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Hand picked Chardonnay from the steep, free draining soils of Cave Block on Pipers River. Grapes are whole bunch pressed into a selection of seasoned and new French oak barriques, wild indigenous ferments, light lees contact and partial malolactic achieve a deeply textural wine of lemon curd and preserved citrus complexity. Cashews and grain, a finely elegant acid palate define Cave Block, mealyness and vibrant citrus fruit. The finish is clean and long, lingering on languid notes of nectarine skins, roasted kernel and rye.

$4899each $587DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$5899each $707DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$4999each $599DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$2249each $269DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$8199each $983DOZEN EACH DOZEN

You'll see plenty of olive trees alongside the d'Arenberg roadsides, flourishing among the vines. McLaren Vale is littered with olive groves which were planted by the first settlers. While neighbouring table grape growers consider olive trees a nuisance, local winemakers are thankful for the bittersweet nuances which the tiny green stonefruits impart to the wine. Chester Osborn determines the critical time of picking his Chardonnay, which is treated to wild ferments and lees stirring, for a rich textural wine with savoury aromas and good palate complexity.

$1999each $239DOZEN EACH DOZEN McLaren Vale makes buxom, fleshy white varietal wines of structure and balance. The Adelaide Hills yield a brisk style of Chardonnay with penetrating fruit characters and crisp stonefruit acidity. Under the insistence of chief winemaker Chester Osborn, each components is separately handled. Parcels are crushed and cold soaked on skins at 2C for a day prior to basket pressing, gentle extraction of juices are critical to retain delicate fruit characters. Batches are fermented and matured in a mixture of French and American oak for seven months, bottled immediately upon completion for optimal retention of fresh, natural acidity, so integral to the balance and longevity of the wine.

Pale straw hues. Attractive array of nectarine and granny smith, vanilla, spice and mildly roasted nuts. The palate has an initial hit of creaminess, quite strong in stone fruit and white flowers. Mid palate reverts to a more streamline shape as seaspray and nutty nuances emerge. The finish is long and dry, with just a whisper of vanillan, a lovely modern style of Chardonnay.

De Bortoli are all about nurturing the endowments of the land to be enthused by the bequest of season, the personality of good wine is indeed defined by the disposition of nature. An exemplary effort in Yarra Valley Chardonnay, fashioned to articulate a cornucopia of complex fruit characters over rich barrel ferment extracts, seasoned by nutty, vanilla cashew notes. The palate is superbly textured and manifestly elegant, captivating and compelling, before a long, exquisitely poised finish that's just gorgeous.

$2599each $311DOZEN EACH DOZEN De Bortoli work to the belief that sustainable vineyard practices deliver exceptional quality wines as well as providing real benefits to the environment. Vibrant characters are preserved throughout vinification with gentle, low intervention techniques, creating a wine with varietal definition and purity. Parcels of Chardonnay are selected from four estate properties, hand picked off mature, low yielding vines which consistently produce the finest quality fruit. Grapes are whole bunch crushed and pressed to extract good phenolics for texture and minerality. Juices are settled overnight before racking to a collection of seasoned French oak casks for a course of lees stirring and wild, indigenous fermentation.

Light straw with green hues. Refreshing citrus lift with background notes of hazelnuts and slight, toasty aromas. Tight lean citrus like fruit. A textured palate which shows savoury characters of hazelnuts wound together with some balanced phenolics to give length and longevity. The Chardonnay of choice to accompany char grilled, Maghrebi spiced spatchcock.

Lusatia Park is one of the most distinguished vineyards in Yarra Valley, choice clones of closely spaced vines were planted to the north facing Block A in 1995, they yield a spectacular harvest of intense, finely structured Chardonnay with each vintage. Fruit is hand sorted and whole bunch pressed, racked to barrel for a wild yeast ferment and completion of malolactic, followed by a course of intermittent lees stirring until the spring. A minerally, highly nuanced style of Chardonnay, creamy textured with a gentle acidity, mouthfilling and briny in the old world way, delicious.

$4099each $491DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Fruit from the superlative Dixons Creek property continues to be the focus for tremendous single vineyard efforts by De Bortoli. There is a common thread in the detail and texture of wine from these older sites, as influenced by the vagaries of growing season and clime. Some splendid blocks of vine were established decades ago, today they yield the finest harvests in Yarra Valley. Fashioned from the pick of fruit on Section A5 at Dixons Creek, an extraordinary Chardonnay of prominent peach, melon and fig characters, a wine of focus, power and restraint.

$4999each $599DOZEN EACH DOZEN Vines are planted north to south, soils are highly mineral siltstones which produce a most interesting wine. Blocks which can enjoy less exposure contribute the greatest detail to the final wine. When optimum flavour in the ripening berries is achieved, grapes are hand picked, whole bunch crushed and pressed to extract some good phenolics for texture and minerality. Juices are cold settled for clarity, racked to a selection of seasoned French oak casks and treated to a wild indigenous yeast fermentation. Lees are stirred regularly from the late autumn until early spring. Components are matured for up to a year in a selection of prior use 225 Litres French oak barriques.

Light straw with green hues. White flowers and hazelnut, complex mineral notes, citrus and fig, flintyness and peach. Gently textured, slightly savoury palate of refined phenolics, hazel nuttynesss and crisp nervy acid, good drive and length. Long flavoured, textural, a bliss with John Dory or gnocchi and creamy sage sauce.