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.
- 2025 Bondar Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
- 2025 Two Tonne Tasmania TMV Chardonnay
- 2025 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
- 2025 Renzaglia Chardonnay
- 2025 Patrick Sullivan Chardonnay
- 2025 Usher Tinkler Paperwasp Vineyard Chardonnay
2025 Bondar Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
Andre Bondar’s love for Adelaide Hills Chardonnay goes back to his early winemaking days at Nepenthe, and his 2025 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay proves he hasn’t lost his touch. Sourced from a cool, high-altitude (400m ASL) single vineyard in Echunga, the fruit was hand-picked and lightly pressed straight to a mix of French oak barrels (around 25% new) and ceramic eggs for a natural, wild fermentation.
The warmer 2025 vintage has played beautifully into this wine's hands, lending a lovely plushness and oomph to the mid-palate without sacrificing its cool-climate line. Spending ten months on lees with zero sulfur added until bottling, it has emerged as a gorgeous, textural package. It manages to balance a core of bright citrus and white stone fruit with a creamy, structured weight that makes it punch well above its price tag.
Andre might be famous for his McLaren Vale reds, but this release proves he’s just as skilled with premium white Burgundy varieties. For our money, this is comfortably one of the best premium/value Chardonnay buys in South Australia this year.
2025 Two Tonne Tasmania TMV Chardonnay
The 2025 season in the Tamar was a bit of a balancing act for Ricky Evans. A warm spring led to healthy yields - a nice change from some leaner years - but a dry, warm summer meant he had to be patient. Things cooled off just in time, allowing the fruit to ripen slowly and hold onto that essential Tassie energy.
Because of that warmth, Ricky let a bigger portion of the wine go through malolactic fermentation this year. He was looking for a "lick of richness" to marry up with the cooling natural acidity the Tamar is known for, and the result is spot on. It’s predominantly fermented in 500L casks (with a single foudre in the mix), spending 10 months on lees to build a silky, relaxed texture.
You get the hallmark white peach and lemon curd, but there’s an extra layer of depth here that makes it feel incredibly complete. It’s a serious, layered Chardonnay that punches well above its weight, balancing the natural edgy energy in Tasmania with a polished, creamy finish.
2025 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
Another fantastic release here of one of Victoria's best-value Chardonnays.
Barney Flanders pulls from a tidy mix of Mornington vineyards here, anchored by 25-year-old vines across Balnarring, Merricks North, Merricks and Tuerong. All whole-bunch pressed, wild fermented in big 500L puncheons, and left alone on lees for seven months. Just long enough to get the palate weight ramped up a fraction before bottling.
Gee, it looks good, even at this early stage of its life. There’s a cool glide to the palate - citrus skin, white nectarine, maybe a flick of jasmine - with a subtle nip of oak and a gentle creamy ripple from partial malo. It's class-act Chardonnay that feels much more premium than the price tag suggests.
There is never a lot of this wine around and given the value on offer, it's no wonder. Great buying.
95 points
"Great value, great wine. A lovely balance of citrus and white nectarine with ginger flower and a neat tug of phenolics. The palate is neatly composed, with a flutter of light lees and juicy acidity. Up there as one of my go-to drinks because everything about it is just right."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)
94 points
"This is juicy and flavoursome... It’s such a tasty Chardonnay. Everything is in the right place."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
2025 Renzaglia Chardonnay
When the call came mid-harvest offering up the entire Patina Vineyard, winemaker Sam Renzaglia said yes without blinking - even if it did mean a sudden mountain of fruit to deal with. And we're glad they did, because this Chardonnay is a ripper.
Grown on a high-altitude, cool-climate site near Orange, the fruit comes off lean, tight and full of potential. It was whole bunch pressed straight to concrete, no fancy temp control, no fiddling. Wild ferment, full malolactic, left on lees through winter untouched, then bottled without fining or filtration.
You get stone fruit, citrus and a little florals, but it’s the texture and balance that are most impressive - it has a really lovely flow and balance to it.
Proper Chardonnay here with tension and nerve from one of NSW's most impressive young producers.
2025 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 celebrates 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.
"My best Limestone Coast Chardonnay yet - perfectly poised with Goldilocks balance and mineral detail."
- Patrick Sullivan (Owner/Winemaker)
2025 Usher Tinkler Paperwasp Vineyard Chardonnay
Great ideas often start over a shared bottle of wine, and the 'Paperwasp' is proof of that. Usher Tinkler wanted to create a barrel-fermented Hunter Chardonnay that was immediately accessible in both style and price, and he has absolutely nailed it once again for the 2025 release.
The wine takes its name from the 1.6-hectare vineyard planted in 1985, where backpackers often perform "The Dance of the Paper Wasp" to avoid the nests hidden in the canopy during harvest. Now 40 years old, these vines on sandy loam soil produce fruit with serious concentration.
It is 100% barrel fermented in a mix of new and old French oak, with monthly lees stirring and partial malolactic fermentation. This gives the wine a rich, creamy texture that fills the mouth without weighing it down. It is full-bodied and generous but retains that vital freshness you need. A wonderfully versatile Chardonnay that delivers terrific bang for your buck.
95 points
"Such a beautiful wine, displaying all of the lightness and energy of the '25 chardonnay vintage... The wine shows the strength of the vineyards and the insight of the winemaker, with a relentless pursuit of quality in both areas. Punches well above its weight for the price, and the lingering lemony flavours are just divine."
- Toni Paterson MW (Halliday Wine Companion)
Customer Reviews
| Price Bracket | $31 to $40 |
| Type | White |
| Variety | Chardonnay |
| Country | Australia |
| Size | 750ml |
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