2023 Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay

Delicious, full-flavoured Chardonnay from one of Orange's best producers.
4.6
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
5 Reviews

Price:
Sale price$32.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

The Mrs Payten Chardonnay is a heartfelt tribute to winemaker Tom Ward's grandmother, Armah Payten, and a ripping value cool-climate Chardonnay with richness and weight. First crafted to celebrate Armah’s 90th birthday, this Chardonnay has since become a beloved favourite for Swinging Bridge fans.

Sourced from the meticulously tended Hill Park, Caldwell Lane, and Coole Park Vineyards, this Chardonnay offers a vibrant mix of stone fruits and citrus, balanced by a bright acidity that lends a crisp, clean finish. Maturation in French oak adds a subtle flintiness and depth, it's good old-fashioned Chardonnay with creaminess, some buttery notes and loads of flavour.

It’s a wine that speaks to the tradition and innovation at the heart of Swinging Bridge. Perfectly paired with crisp-skinned ocean trout, it’s a celebration of family, heritage, and Chardonnay from the Orange region.

"White chalk, crushed stone and pomelo skin. Apple cheeks and white nectarine. Yellow plum, lemonade fruit and elevated acidity. A hint of nutmeg and dusty cinnamon. Crunchy and, as always, full of energy and appeal."
- Shanteh Wale (Halliday Wine Companion)

The Swinging Bridge Winemaker Series, like their namesakes, are unique. They reflect the best of the Orange Region, capturing the essence and terroir of the vineyard. As was Mrs Payten, Tom’s grandmother, these are wines of style, elegance, and finesse. This Chardonnay was first released to celebrate Armah’s 90th birthday in 2013 and was matured in tightly grained French Oak, balancing its rich stone fruit and grapefruit characters. With its depth of flavour, flintiness, and natural cool-climate acidity, this is a wine that will reward cellaring.

Explore the Vintage

The vintage began with unusually cool and wet conditions from September through December. These low temperatures led to a late bud burst, causing low bud initiation and small bunch sizes in Chardonnay across the region. These conditions required diligent efforts in our vineyards to open up the fruit zone through extensive leaf plucking, thinning, and trimming. The second half of the vintage saw a turn of events with above-average temperatures from January to March, allowing the Chardonnay to reach optimal ripeness while retaining beautiful natural acids from the cooler start to the vintage.

Appreciate the Winemaking

The fruit was picked from our Hill Park (Block 7) and Caldwell Lane Vineyards (Blocks D and A), as well as Coole Park Vineyard (Block 1). The fruit is then taken straight to the press, left to settle briefly, then racked to barrel with a fair amount of solids, and left for wild ferment. The barrels consist of 20% new hogsheads and puncheons, from a mixture of French Tonneliers well suited to Chardonnay in Orange. Fermentation occurs as quickly as possible, before 30% goes through malolactic conversion. The barrels are stirred every couple of weeks initially and then less frequently until the right texture is achieved, differing for each individual barrel. The barrels are then tasted separately and blended for the final bottling in late November.

Enjoy the Characteristics

Colour: Clear, pale lemon.
Nose: Fresh white peach, lemon juice, and white blossom.
Palate: Light-bodied with a bright but soft acid structure. Stone fruits and white florals with a soft, smooth finish.

93 points - "White chalk, crushed stone and pomelo skin. Apple cheeks and white nectarine. Yellow plum, lemonade fruit and elevated acidity. A hint of nutmeg and dusty cinnamon. Crunchy and, as always, full of energy and appeal."
- Shanteh Wale (Halliday Wine Companion)

92 points - "The first thing that hits is a mouthwatering line of salty acidity, then some grain to texture, almond meal, vanilla slice and grapefruit pith. All bundled in a solid mid-palate package, with lemon curd creaminess and a little chew to finish. Fresh, super easily drinkable style that ticks all Chardonnay boxes for the price." - Kasia Sobiesiak (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

4.6
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
Based on 5 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 3 Total 4 star reviews: 2 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
5 reviews
  • DH
    derek h.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    10 months ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    2022 Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay
    Reviewing
    2022 Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Decent value

    Good value for what you are paying. Nice and bright, better with some food. If you are looking for something weightier, probably not the one.

  • EB Profile picture for Emilie B.
    Emilie B.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    2 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    2022 Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay
    Reviewing
    2022 Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    surprising

    this chardy is really fresh and juicy, I normally cant stand chards as they are too mushroomy and buttery bit this drop leaves that behind, very tasty.

  • RR
    Ros R.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    2 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    2022 Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay
    Reviewing
    2022 Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    One of my favourites

    Love this tasty Chardonnay.

Reviews LoadedReviews Added

Swinging Bridge Wines

Swinging Bridge is one of Orange’s premier producers.

This producer has always served up extremely well-priced, classically styled wines, but recent years has seen the quality and variety go to another level.

Owner/winemaker Tom Ward has a vision for Swinging Bridge to be renowned for its premium Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and for innovation, and they're making great strides.

Their Chardonnay is already as good as any in the region; the Pinot Noir, while early days, is winning trophies and shows great promise, the innovative '# Series' is full of all sorts of deliciously quirky experiments.

An excellent producer and a leader for the future for Orange and NSW wine.

Tom Ward of Swinging Bridge Swinging Bridge

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Shipping

Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you. 

Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.

Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.

Ordering

We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.

Some things to keep in mind: 

  • Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
  • The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
  • We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
  • We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
  • It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.  
  • It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.

We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.

At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Call Us

Send a message