Australian Chardonnay Favourites – 6 Pack

1 x In Dreams Chardonnay 2021 ~ Yarra Valley, Australia

93/100 Campbell Mattinson 
Bronze - Philip Rich (2020 vintage)
94/100 Jeni Port (2019 vintage)

Campbell Mattinson "Yarra Valley Chablis, if you like. Or that kind of style, anyway. Sweet pear, juicy green and red apple, nectarine, an element of honeysuckle and a light clip of cedarwood. Textbook in its loveliness. There’s an aspect of tart acidity here but it works in context and anyways, in time, the wine as a whole will shine all the more ".

Philip Rich "A vibrant green gold. Nectarines and citrus aromas intermingled with some matchstick and almonds. A savoury wine with good freshness and crunch" (2020 vintage)

Jeni Port "Nice emotion. Introduction of dusty oak and lemon sherbet, green apple. On the leaner side of chardonnay with pronounced lemony acidity, taut and taste of cold steel. Concentrated and yet to do a full reveal." (2019 vintage)

Swiss born head winemaker, Nina Stocker is the daughter of eminent wine scientist Dr John Stocker. Nina was born and raised in a small town on the border of the Alsace wine region in Switzerland and it was her family’s involvement in the local village vineyard which paved the way for her future career as a Winemaker.

Nina has worked vintages in McLaren Vale, Yarra Valley, Barolo (Italy), Rhone Valley (France), Alentejo (Portugal), and New Zealand.

In Dreams have won medals for both their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In Dreams source their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from three low yielding, premium quality vineyards. The vineyards are predominantly from the upper Yarra Valley due to the cooler micro climate that helps them capture the elegance and finesse of this noble variety.

In Dreams are focused on allowing the vineyards to express themselves in the resulting wines using traditional winemaking techniques such as small batch fermentation, wild yeast and the delicate use of French oak.

1 x Brown Hill Golden Horseshoe Reserve Chardonnay 2019 ~ Margaret River, Western Australia

95/100 Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion
92/100 Ray Jordan, WA Wine Guide
Bronze - Huon Hooke, The Real Review

‘SMALL PRODUCER OF THE YEAR’ ~ The West Australian Wine Guide 2010
‘SMALL PRODUCER OF THE YEAR’ ~ The West Australian Wine , Guide 2009

Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion "Hand picked, whole-bunch pressed, fermented in a combination of seasoned and new French oak. Toasty, chewy and packed with layers of flavour and texture. The saline acid ties it all to a post, the concentrated fruit forms a deep pool of flavour on the tongue. There's a lot to ponder, a lot to like, and thankfully, a whole bottle to drink. Get to it."

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Very light-straw colour. The aroma is reserved and a bit shy, with a faint floral overtone, while the palate is light but reasonably intense, straightforward and tickled up with a trace of sweetness. A pleasant wine."

The Western Australian Wine Guide 2018 "Brown Hill Estate is small family-run southern Margaret River producer has gone from strength to strength with a range of exceptional quality and value-for-money wines. The vines are all dry grown and on quite harsh gravelly soils, resulting in small yields. All grapes are hand-picked. The reds are put into a high percentage of new American and French oak. Great value and super wines."

Brown Hill Estate is a family run, multi-award winning Margaret River winery focussed on single vineyards. It utilizes traditional methods of handpicking and hand sorting to get the best quality from its grapes, and French coopered barrels in production.

Margaret River is one of the best-known wine regions in Australia, recognized internationally for the quality of its wines and the natural beauty of the region. Although originally renowned for its unusually refined Cabernet Sauvignon and intensely citrusy chardonnay varieties, the region now produces Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends and Shiraz.

Located in the south-western corner of Western Australia, it is famous for having a more 'European' wine style than its counterparts across Australia, owing to the regions temperate, coastal location which is very similar to that of Bordeaux.

Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grapes, Chardonnay is made in a wide range of styles from lean, to rich, creamy white wines aged in oak. Bolder, richer, full-bodied and buttery Chardonnays are made using oak and are produced in California, Burgundy, and Australia. Unoaked chardonnays such as Chablis and those produced in Chile, New Zealand, and other parts of France are leaner and often crisp and mineraly, with delicate flavors. By law, if a label says “Chablis,” it must be Chardonnay.

1 x McHenry Hohnen Laterite Hills Chardonnay (Organic) 2022 ~ Margaret River, Western Australia

92/100 Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
92/100 James Suckling
16.5/20 Jancis Robinson

97/100 - Top Chardonnay Halliday Wine Companion Awards 2023

5 Star Winery - James Halliday

“Halliday Wine Companion - Australian Winery of the Year 2022 & 2023 - Shortlisted. Ranked Top 8”.

Wine Companion Winery of the Year 2022

Aaron Brasher, The Real Review "Complex aromas of grapefruit pith, melon skin, just-ripe nectarine and talc. Full of flavour and richness. There's quite some power on the palate. Stone-fruit and tropical flavours are the driver along with pithy acidity and plenty of phenolic grip."

James Suckling "tight and rocky in the mouth. Curd, white peach, quince and nougat riffs are flecked across the gentle oak framework, the acidity maritime-salty while dragging easy-going length. This is the sort of sophisticated, albeit, relatively approachable chardonnay that serves as the regional totem. From biodynamically grown grapes."

Aaron Brasher, The Real Review "Pale straw, bright and really youthful in the glass. Fragrant, pretty and lifted aromas of lemon pith, bath salts, citrus blossom and wet slate. Fine, delicate and pin-point on the palate, mouth-wateringly citrusy, juicy, mineral, pithy with lip smacking crunchy acidity. This is a class act and has a long life ahead of it." (2021 vintage)

James Suckling "This has aromas of white apricots, grapefruit, saltines and nutmeg. Fresh and elegant with a medium body and bright acidity. Refreshing sea breeze character to the fresh fruit and biscuit elements." (2021 vintage)

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate "The 2021 Laterite Hills Chardonnay is tight, lithe and mineral. The acid and fruit rise as one in the mouth, with layers of very fine phenolics through the finish. Pretty, spicy, good." (2021 vintage)

Halliday Wine Companion Awards 2023, Erin Larkin "Wowsers. This is super-serious... Unbelievable value for money: scintillating citrus acid line, concentrated, mouth-staining fruit and complex layers of crushed nuts, creamy tannins ... all wrapped into a long and reverberating tail of flavour. $42: speechless." (2020 vintage)

Aaron Brasher "Complex aromas of grilled nuts, nougat, white stone fruit, white flowers and struck-match. Tight and focused on the palate, grapefruit, melon, nectarine, nutty oak and a briney edge. The acidity is crunchy and there's a phenolic touch that provides grip, structure and mouth-feel" (2020 vintage)b

James Halliday " After a reticent bouquet, this springs into life on the palate with its clear-as-a-bell white peach/grapefruit varietal signature. French oak is little more than a shadow in the background, development potential unlimited." (2019 Vintage)

Stuart Knox "Medium straw-yellow colour in the glass, with a nose of roasted cashews, nectarine and hint of struck-match. Just-ripe white nectarine, bacon fat and oyster-brine fill the mouth whilst a lemon zest acidity coils it tightly across the palate. Very impressive drive and intensity, carrying it long and lingering for an age" (2019 Vintage)

100% Chardonnay
Alcohol: 12.8%

Founded by one of the pioneers of the Margaret River winemaking region, David Hohnen and his brother in law, Murray McHenry, an accomplished fine wine retailer. Both have been making wine in Margaret River since the early 1970’s. McHenry Hohnen vineyards are 100% biodynamic. Their three unique vineyards (Burnside, Calgardup and Hazel’s) produce wines that are a reflection of the land. McHenry Hohnen focusses on crafting site-expressive wines and are known for producing some of the region's best wines.

"McHenry Hohnen is tucked away off Bussell Highway to the south of Margaret River. The wines have bound from strength, a comment never truer than under the stewardship of winemaker Jacopo (Japo). Under his leadership, the wines have been catapulted into a new realm of quality. The chardonnays particularly exemplify that hard-to-achieve balance of pleasurable on release, and capable of graceful ageing. The move towards organics and sustainable farming has had a positive impact on the quality of the wines, and it is a delight to witness so much diversity in the vineyards - from experimental clones and new plantings, to sheep, chickens, olives and vegetables. McHenry Hohnen is an estate on the move - divert your eyes at your peril - EL."

Margaret River is one of the best-known wine regions in Australia, recognized internationally for the quality of its wines and the natural beauty of the region. Although originally renowned for its unusually refined Cabernet Sauvignon and intensely citrusy Chardonnay varieties, the region now produces Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends and Shiraz.

Located in the south-western corner of Western Australia, it is famous for having a more 'European' wine style than its counterparts across Australia, owing to
the regions temperate, coastal location which is very similar to that of Bordeaux.

2 x Giant Steps Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay 2019 ~ Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia

95/100 The Wine Front
94/100 Wine Spectator
93/100 Nick's Wine Merchants

Mike Bennie (The Wine Front) "Huge mineral feel, indeed, you’d paste this into the section under ‘Wine; Minerality’ in an encyclopaedia. All pebbles and talc in perfume, sure, some citrus, citrus blossom, faint bread dough notes, but you’re drawn to the flint and element rocky notes primarily. The palate does the same, flint, wet slate, smooth pebbles rolled around the palate, olive brine, green apple juice and lime comes in too. Feels quite firm despite a sense of juiciness and being dart-shaped and long. Finishes with the faintest kiss of salted nuttiness. Just beautiful. Poised and fine."

The Wine Spectator "Stylish and memorable, with a touch of salted caramel adding a rich, savory edge, yet the core is pure and juicy, featuring lively Meyer lemon, Asian pear and lime sherbet flavors that show wonderful transparency and intensity, followed by candied ginger notes on the finish. Drink now through 2022. 530 cases made, 200 cases imported."

Giant Steps is a privately owned, estate based, Yarra Valley grower and winemaker. Giant Steps has forged a reputation for delivering some of Australia’s most consistent, over-performing, varietal wines. These wines have received global acclaim and established a strong reputation in restaurants and fine wine stores around the world.

Since 2003 Giant Steps wines have collectively been awarded 19 trophies and over 50 gold medals at major international and domestic wine shows, and has been named one of the Top 100 Wineries in the World by Wine & Spirits Magazine, US for each of the last three years.

Owner Phil Sexton came to wine via beer. He started Little Creatures, a favourite of Aussie hopheads, in Perth (Western Australia).

Yarra Valley is a region with a cool climate, best known for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Yarra Valley is an hour’s drive east of Melbourne. Located in a protected valley, Tarraford Vineyard has a discrete microclimate that is cooler than neighbouring sites.

1 x Pare "Bowyer Ridge Vineyard" Chardonnay 2022 - Adelaide Hills, Australia

95/100 Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion
91/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review

Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion "From a single vineyard and two plots on the site, both over 500m above sea level. New and used French oak is used to mature the wine. It feels right in the groove. Supple, succulent, packed with flavour yet light on its feet. Just-ripe stone fruits with hazy green apple juice, a touch of nougat, some sweet spice, a core of briny minerality and a lick of honeycomb, barely there but lending some nuance about the wine's age at tasting. Complex, layered and even; beautiful of poise and character."

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Medium straw-yellow hue; complex buttery bouquet—buttered croissant with honey, the palate following on from this with soft, round, sweet-fruit in the core. A worked style with plenty of artifact characters, balanced and retaining its structure well throughout the palate."

Australian Financial Review – Max Allen "Winemaker Ansel Ashby launched his first label, Gatch, in 2016 to produce wines that were “fun, delicious, and not pretentious” – everyday drinking white and red that didn’t focus on variety or provenance. His latest venture, Pare, set up with business partner Andrew Williams, takes the opposite tack: serious, single-varietal wines from single, named vineyards. There are two grenaches in the line-up, both from blocks of old, dry-grown vines in the prized Blewitt Springs area of McLaren Vale. The 2023 Douglas Gully Vineyard Grenache, from vines planted in 1948 in deep sand, is very good – squashy blood plum fruit flavours and fine, chewy tannins, like sucking on a plum stone – but my pick is the Jericho. Vines planted in 1955, wild ferment with 50 per cent whole bunches, then 10 months’ maturation in old puncheons all result in a pure, floral, polished expression of grenache with a sprinkling of spice and fine, porcelain tannins. Quite seductive."

Pare wines was born from a friendship and desire to craft the finest wines from the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale. Our wines are all single vineyard expressions of Chardonnay and Grenache. Each wine is hand crafted, using pared back winemaking to express the vineyards in their truest form.

The Bowyer Ridge vineyard sits just outside of Lobethal in Kenton Valley at 490 m in elevation. This cool site retains acidity and balance, leading to an elegant but powerful wine. We consider this among the best vineyards for Chardonnay in the Adelaide Hills.