Description
Chardonnay is probably our favourite white grape. Here are six of our favourite anytime, anywhere Chardonnays that we have highly recommend to anyone looking for a great value Chardy fix.
- 2023 Commune of Buttons Basket Town Chardonnay
- 2024 Patrick Sullivan Chardonnay
- 2023 Mac Forbes Yarra Valley Chardonnay
- 2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
- 2023 Usher Tinkler Paperwasp Vineyard Chardonnay
- 2023 Domaine Naturaliste Discovery Chardonnay
2023 Commune of Buttons Basket Town Chardonnay
The Basket Town Chardonnay is the perfect entry-point to sample the stellar style of Adelaide Hills Chardonnay coming out of the Button's cellar at the moment...
The blend of vineyards that contribute to this wine include Udys and Commune of Buttons vineyards in Piccadilly and Kas Sluiter Vineyard in Onkaparinga.
It's a more opulent number, at least aromatically, with an orchard of stone fruits apparent. That richness diminishes on the palate, as it tightens up, becoming fine and chalky. Classic COB tension and freshness. It's a delicious, stylish, modern Adelaide Hills Chardonnay.
“The wine is saline and tightly bound. There is excellent texture and mouthfeel from slow pressing and great focus and minerality from light extraction. The cool, wet conditions for 2023 made for aromatic, pretty Chardonnay wines dominated by ample white pear and citrus characters.”
- Jasper button
2024 Patrick Sullivan Chardonnay
Patrick Sullivan is a name synonymous with exceptional Australian Chardonnay.
Here's a top-value way to sample his sensational stylings with this variety, with this very reasonably-priced entry-level Pat Sullivan wine!
This, only the third-ever release, continues to honour the volcanic soils of Southern Australia with a wine that strikes a lovely balance between richness, well-defined fruit, and distinctive soil-derived minerality.
The vineyards are nestled along Australia's unique limestone coast. This region is the world's third-largest volcanic plain, harbouring approximately 400 dormant volcanoes. Who knew?!
Pat's deep-rooted connection to this area, where he spent much of his childhood, fills him with tremendous enthusiasm as he offers this great modern representation of Australian Chardonnay.
94 points & Top 100 Wines of 2024
"Patrick Sullivan is one of the country’s most thoughtful winemakers; beneath his mop of unruly hair ticks a brain obsessed with how volcanic-derived soils can shape a wine. He works mostly across Gippsland, Victoria, but for this wine he heads across the South Australian border to Mt Gambier. The result is a fine, sculpted chardonnay, its gentle curves laced with a sparkling minerality."
- Nick Ryan (The Australian)
92 points
"It feels familiar, a wine from the past, the affordable cellar dweller for the flavourtown chardonnay drinkers, and it’s great for that."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2023 Mac Forbes Yarra Valley Chardonnay
The Yarra Valley is one of the homes of great Australian Chardonnay. Getting the best out of Chardonnay from this region is definitely an area of expertise for Mac Forbes.
If you like a more linear, modern expression of the variety, walk this way. All of Mac's Chardonnays strike that lovely balance between elegance, finesse, and freshness. They're fine-boned, pure and superb to drink. It's designed to capture the essence of Yarra Valley Chardonnay.
This is quintessential modern Yarra Chardonnay that will mature beautifully over the medium term.
95 points
"Tightly wound but clearly good with its aromas of subtle orchard fruits, yellow flowers and a little struck match. Fills out on the palate, and there's some real density to the fruit. Very well balanced. I like, too, how Mac Forbes' chardonnays are just that little more approachable in their youth these days."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)
2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
Another fantastic release here of one of Victoria's best-value Chardonnays.
This year’s blend brings together fruit from some of Garagiste’s top vineyards—65% from Balnarring, with smaller portions from Merricks North and Tuerong—where vines averaging 25 years old bring depth and concentration to the fruit.
Pressed as whole bunches and wild fermented in 500-litre puncheons, this Chardonnay is all about texture and finesse. It spent seven months on lees, building a round, supple mouthfeel balanced by a bracing saline streak that keeps everything lifted and refreshing. You’ll find layers of citrus, white flowers, and stone fruits, with just a hint of oak adding subtle structure.
There is never a lot of this wine around and given the value on offer, it's no wonder. Great buying.
94 points
"Complex and quite umami in character. Grapefruit, apple, saline, nutty, Japanese ginger, and a little struck match. It has bright acidity, a certain juiciness in with all that nutty almost sake-like character, creamy almond, fine chalky texture, and a finish of excellent length. Really good Chardonnay, and all things considered, jolly good value. Charismatic, is my last word on this wine. Say no more."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
2023 Usher Tinkler Paperwasp Vineyard Chardonnay
This new release from Usher Tinkler came about over a shared bottle of wine, as so often great ideas do with the desire to offer a barrel fermented Hunter Chardonnay immediately accessible both in style and price point. Usher Tinker own over 60 hectares of established vineyard in Pokolbin including some superb older Chardonnay vines. This wine comes from a 1.6 hectare vineyard planted in 1985, vines now over 35 years old, sandy loam composition.
Handpicked, 100% barrel fermented in a mix of 1 to 3 year old French oak with a small portion going through malolactic fermentation. The 2022 has been aged for 18 months on fine lees with battonage during the elevage.
This wine takes it’s name from the vineyard “Paperwasp Vineyard” due to the high number of Paperwasps that nest in the vines around harvest time.
96 points
"This single-vineyard wine has fresh, high-toned aromas of lemon and grapefruit elevated by enticing, fragrant oak. The palate has exceptional vitality with a modern expression. Fresh, textural, and expansive, the wine is deliciously long, framed by compelling phenolics and tensioned by a core of mouth-watering acidity."
- Toni Paterson (Halliday Wine Companion)
2023 Domaine Naturaliste Discovery Chardonnay
After 20 years observing the area, Bruce Dukes decided all the Chardonnays from Domaine Naturaliste would be crafted entirely from the Gin Gin clone.
This is his best value, early drinking Chardonnay. A wine that seriously over-delivers in the bang-for-your-buck stakes, it's built in a more fruit-forward style - ripe, but not too ripe, and balanced perfectly with a subtle hint of oak.
This is one of the best buys in all of Australian Chardonnay at the moment. You'd be mad not to.
90 points
"The Discovery range is always good value and ticks the varietal box well. This has a nice layer of white stone fruit and citrus, followed by some beeswax and sawdusty oak with refreshing acidity to close. Not complex, as it’s an unashamedly a fruit-driven style to be enjoyed in its youth."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)
Customer Reviews
| Price Bracket | $31 to $40 |
| Type | White |
| Variety | Chardonnay |
| Country | Australia |
| Size | 750ml |
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