Light straw with a green edge. Complex nutty mineral Chardonnay. Tight lean citrus like fruit with hazelnut undertones. Long flavoured palate with texture. The 2007-2008 growing season was warm and dry. Cooler conditions with some rain closer to harvest gave some lovely humid conditions ideal for Chardonnay. 2008 was a lovely year for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Fruit is ‘Estate Grown’ from one of our oldest vineyards planted in 1986 and extended in 1990. The site is planted in a N-S row orientation and faces mainly south. The soils are highly mineral Humevale siltstone which give us some of our most interesting wine. The grapes are hand picked and whole bunch crushed and pressed to extract some good phenolics for texture and minerality. The juice is allowed to ferment naturally in older French oak casks. Lees are stirred regularly until spring. Fine, elegant, delicious vintage. 10 months in older French oak casks – 225 L barriques.

Terrific purity here with freshly sliced melon, citrus and stone fruits. Nice complex palate texture, quite grippy and dense, finishing with peach nougat and handy resolve. 94 Points; Nick Stock, Wine 100, March 2011

Straw green Exhibits ripe grapefruit, roasted nuts and toasty aromas together with intense yeast characters derived from contact with yeast lees. Palate Full bodied with intense citrus flavour, the palate is finely structured and shows chalky nutty texture as a result of the indigenous ferment and extended yeast contact. Cellaring Three to five years.

The Epis chardonnay vines are now 18 years old - no doubt part of the reason why they turn out such good grapes year in, year out. These vines are dry-grown and fanatically tended. They’re turned into wine with the help of Stuart Anderson. 2007 was a warm year and as was the case in a lot of southern Victoria, harvest was a month ahead of schedule.

There’s a clip of sweet, coconutty oak and at first it seems a bit heavy-handed. This isn’t the Chablis-style that Epis chardonnay has been angling towards in recent years - again, it’s low-ish alcohol but there is a minor spot of warmth on the finish. All that admitted, as the wine rests in the glass classic notes of lemon and nectarine and hazelnut burst forward, the thrust and charm of it never in dispute. This is another excellent Epis chardonnay - and while it may not cellar as long as the past couple of releases, my bet is that it will improve in the bottle over the next five years with ease. Rated : 93 Points Alcohol : 13% Price : $40 Closure : Diam Drink : 2009 - 2014 Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

Only a small number of vineyards in Victoria’s cool-climate Macedon Ranges region deliver internationally recognisable elements of style and quality. Invariably located in heat trap-like sites that are able to reach full physiological ripeness in most seasons, the best vineyards can produce distinctively Australian wines of an uncanny French-ness. Bindi is one of these, but has become too well known to be a subject in this story. Epis, however, is right on brief.

Combine the abilities and passion of the Odd Couple-like pairing of winemaker Stuart Anderson and viticulturist Alec Epis and you have an irresistible recipe for tiny amounts of high-class Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Merlot. Humorous and irascible, Epis is a former premiership-winning player for Essendon in what was then the Victorian Football League. Founder of the small Balgownie vineyard and a well-known connoisseur of the wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, Anderson is a worldly and cultivated character who still enjoys making wine in France and is perhaps today making some of the best wine of his long life in the Macedon Ranges.

Grown at Epis’ home vineyard at Woodend, the Chardonnay marries the concentration of low-cropped Australian fruit with a length, tautness and minerality suggestive of Macon in Burgundy. It’s unusually fragrant, with a palate of crystal-clear citrus and honeydew melon flavour. With the seductively sappy mouthfeel of pinot at its finest, Epis’ Pinot Noir reveals a heady, spicy perfume of musk, cinnamon and cherries, before a palate of sumptuous depth and fine-grained structure. From the old Flynn and Williams vineyard at Kyneton, the Epis and Williams Cabernet Sauvignon does perhaps vary more from season to season than the other wines. Warmer years deliver more flesh and substance; cooler seasons more mint and dried herbs. There is no intent, dream or even room to increase the production of these rare and distinctive wines. Jeremy Oliver

The season started with a normal spring, neither hot nor cool with normal rainfall. There were the usual occasional frost events that were able to be successfully fought. Good weather over flowering resulted in an excellent fruit set. The summer was on the cool side and then February which is normally our warmest and most stable month, was unseasonably cool and wet (although wet for us is still only 48mm but falling on six occasions). In recognition of the cooler summer and then the cool February we were determined to keep crop levels down, so crop thinned more aggressively than normal. Also in recognition of the wet February, we leaf plucked exposing the fruit which is not usual for us. March was a return to normal warm and stable weather and the vines ripened very smoothly and holding great canopy despite the challenges in the weather.

A selection was made in the vineyard of the more intensely flavoured Chardonnay grapes (Mendoza clone) for barrel fermentation. Fully ripe grapes were carefully hand harvested and whole bunch pressed to minimise phenolic pick-up and retain flavour intensity. The juice was then drained (without settling) directly to barrel in the underground cellar. Fermentation in French oak (only 10% new) with indigenous yeasts has produced a wine with considerable complexity. A long slow malolactic fermentation and regular stirring of the lees (Batonnage) has softened the acid for a rich creamy mouthfeel.

At this early stage of its life the wine is pert and lively with spring flowers and citrus blossom on the nose and a hint of hazelnut.  The palate is smooth, racy and seamless, with a full texture, but a lithe and taught structure.  It is clean and long in the finish and while delicious now, will take some bottle age to start to evolve the evident complexity that lies in wait.

Chardonnay is the forgotten man in Central Otago, with no new plantings since 2001. But, as this wine shows, it deserves better. Wild yeast fermented, and bottled unfiltered/unfined after 17 months on gross lees, it has singular texture and power, its drivers grapefruit and mineral on an exceptionally long and persistent palate, oak irrelevant. 14% alc; screwcap; 96 points; drink to 2020; $53; James Halliday; The Weekend Australian

The season started with a normal spring, neither hot nor cool with normal rainfall. There were the usual occasional frost events that were able to be successfully fought. Good weather over flowering resulted in an excellent fruit set. The summer was on the cool side and then February which is normally our warmest and most stable month, was unseasonably cool and wet (although wet for us is still only 48mm but falling on six occasions). In recognition of the cooler summer and then the cool February we were determined to keep crop levels down, so crop thinned more aggressively than normal. Also in recognition of the wet February, we leaf plucked exposing the fruit which is not usual for us. March was a return to normal warm and stable weather and the vines ripened very smoothly and holding great canopy despite the challenges in the weather.

A selection was made in the vineyard of the more intensely flavoured Chardonnay grapes (Mendoza clone) for barrel fermentation. Fully ripe grapes were carefully hand harvested and whole bunch pressed to minimise phenolic pick-up and retain flavour intensity. The juice was then drained (without settling) directly to barrel in the underground cellar. Fermentation in French oak (only 10% new) with indigenous yeasts has produced a wine with considerable complexity. A long slow malolactic fermentation and regular stirring of the lees (Batonnage) has softened the acid for a rich creamy mouthfeel.

At this early stage of its life the wine is pert and lively with spring flowers and citrus blossom on the nose and a hint of hazelnut.  The palate is smooth, racy and seamless, with a full texture, but a lithe and taught structure.  It is clean and long in the finish and while delicious now, will take some bottle age to start to evolve the evident complexity that lies in wait.

The nose is fresh and perfumed expressing spring flowers and citrus blossom. The palate is very textural, filling the mouth, yet the flavour keeps its delicate poise with honeysuckle and citrus flowers overlying the usual crisp acidity. Oak is very much in the background, if detectable at all. While the power within the palate will undoubtedly come forward over the coming months and years, the subtlety and delicacy continue to be the driving force. The combination of texture with the sheer poise of the wine is an exciting counterpoint.

The season started with a normal spring, neither hot nor cool with normal rainfall. There were the usual occasional frost events that were able to be successfully fought. Good weather over flowering resulted in an excellent fruit set. The summer was on the cool side and then February which is normally our warmest and most stable month, was unseasonably cool and wet (although wet for us is still only 48mm but falling on six occasions). In recognition of the cooler summer and then the cool February we were determined to keep crop levels down, so crop thinned more aggressively than normal. Also in recognition of the wet February, we leaf plucked exposing the fruit which is not usual for us. March was a return to normal warm and stable weather and the vines ripened very smoothly and holding great canopy despite the challenges in the weather.

The 2010 Chardonnay fruit was handpicked in pristine condition, refrigerated overnight and whole bunch pressed to allow gentle extraction. The juice was then transferred directly into Burgundian oak barrels and temperature controlled to ensure a slow fermentation process. This allows for the development of more complex fl avours and seamless oak integration. Post fermentation the lees were stirred gently once a week until the balance between oak, lees and fruit characters was achieved. Malolactic fermentation was not carried through so the vibrant natural acidity was preserved. The wine was fi ned with isinglass just prior to bottling.

Brilliant medium straw with green hints. Lifted fresh lemon leaf, white nectarine, peach blossom, subtle nuttiness with savoury toasty oak. Medium weight with a fl eshy full mouth feel, peach, white nectarine, lemon rind, subtle nuttiness, complex spicy oak, long persistent length with a well integrated acid backbone and a full spicy finish. The wine is certainly approachable now, though will age gracefully over the next 8 - 10 years.

Pale green-quartz; the cool climate shows through in that seemingly effortless drive and intensity the fruit has, and the way it soaks up the barrel ferment oak inputs; its palate is honed to a fine edge of white peach and nectarine, with an almost joyous purity and great length. 94 Points; James Halliday

2008 Nantua Les Deux is a blend of 93% Chardonnay and 7% Roussanne from the Giaconda, Nantua and Warner vineyards, again totally barrel fermented with about 30% new oak. Nantua is made using exactly the same method as Giaconda Chardonnay, just less oak maturation:- The nose is similar to Giaconda Chardonnay, oatmeal, hazelnuts, matchstick with hints of jasmine . Perfectly balanced fruit, oak and acidity, pure texture on the palate, clean, rich and lingering. Good to drink now, with or without food and at least 3-4 years aging potential. Bottled with screwcap closures.

An impressive, complex and masterfully executed chardonnay that really captures the essence of all that's great about Beechworth's terroir in the hands of Rick Kinzbrunner. Scintillating fragrant, edgy nose with fine, fresh nectarine and citrus fruits, flinty at the edges, and dressed in beautifully cut oak. Terrific rolling palate texture and impressively weighted from start to finish - this has ripe pear and stone fruit flavour and creeping nutty nuances through the finish. It's just a pup, but delicious all the same. Rating: 94 Points; Drinking: 2013; Nick Stock; The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2010

A blend of 93% Chardonnay and 7% Roussanne from the Giaconda, Nantua and Warner vineyards, this delivers impressive barrel fermented complexity with impressive fruit resolve. Layered palate, really superbly wrapped into shape, this has early drinking appeal and immense, complex sophistication. Rating: 94 Points; Wine Business Monthly

Mandarin skins, slate, fresh paw paw, oatmeal, beeswax, grapefruit, magnolias. Light but with lots of drive, grapefruit pith, zesty, toasted grains, pastry, lemon barley. A crescendo in the mouth. Grilled barramundi, fresh pasta with olive oil and lemon thyme, barbequed prawns, washed rind cheeses.

Light straw-green; the Tarraford Vineyard has some of the oldest chardonnay in the valley, reflected in the intensity and structure of this wine; has the depth of fruit that can be obtained at 13%, pointing the way for the future; here the grapefruit, nectarine and melon skin flavours are prominent, the oak a means to an end. Drink: to 2020; Price: $40.00; Alcohol: 13%; Rating: 96 Points; James Halliday Wine Companion

Looks like we’re on a chardonnay roll. Giant Steps Tarraford chardonnay is a proven performer. This wine is in terrific form. Ever so stylish and ever so lengthy. Lots of struck match and yeast/lees-like aroma/flavour. Strong push of grapefruit and lemon curd as the wine sweeps through your mouth. Toasty/slatey bite to the finish. Stylish, structural, and cellarworthy. Rated : 94 Points; Alcohol : 13%; Price : $40; Closure : Screwcap; Drink : 2013 - 2018; By Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

From a single vineyard planted in 1988, the 2010 Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay received no malo-lactic, was fermented with wild yeast in barrel and matured 11 months in new (25%) and older French oak puncheons. It offers slighted muted aromas of lemon pie, key lime and grapefruit peel with supporting notes of meal and bread-yeast plus a pleasant sulphide / struck match character. Light to medium bodied with a good backbone of acid, it gives very good citrus flavor concentration and a long yeasty finish. Youthfully delicious now, it should evolve gracefully and drink to 2016+. Score: 92. —Lisa Perrotti-Brown, June 2011; Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate

Established in the Great Southern region of Mount Barker, the Goundrey vineyards were planted in the early seventies when the area was initially recognised for its viticultural potential. The infectious enthusiasm of the late West Australian wine identity, Jack Mann, encouraged a small number of farmers to diversify into grape growing, and to pioneer the region. There are three Goundrey vineyards established throughout the Mount Barker region, the flagship Langton property, Windy Hill/Chapel Hill and Fox River. These vineyards are meticulously managed and cared for by a dedicated team of viticulturists who work closely to ensure only the highest fruit quality makes the grade for Goundrey Wines. Approx 13%

Pale straw in colour, with brilliant clarity. This wine exhibits vibrant vanilla essence on the nose, with aromas of peach and pineapple. The palate is rich, with a creamy texture and smooth finish with lingering acidity. A portion of this wine has been fermented in oak barrels with lees stirring, and a portion fermented in tank with lees stirring.

Winemaker Jim Brayne’s Notes; Pale straw with green hues. Apricot kernel, peach and melon dominate, with hints of vanilla and honey. Fine pencil and cedar French oak characters are beautifully supported by creamy butterscotch characters from malo-lactic fermentation. Dominating the front palate are fruit flavours of peach, nectarine and melon. The fruit is astutely balanced by the soft oak infl uence, hints of creaminess and an excellent acid backbone, providing superb structure and length.
 
McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate blends parcels of fruit, sourced from McWilliam’s extensive vineyard resources, to create wines which are consistent in quality and style from year-to-year. The result is fruit focused, complex wines with great structure and consistency. The specially selected parcels of Chardonnay were harvested in the cool of the night to preserve the fresh fruit fl avours. The fruit was crushed into the McWilliam’s drainers where the premium free-run juice was extracted, chilled and settled for 24 hours. The clear juice was then racked and warmed prior to fermentation. Select parcels of Chardonnay were fermented in stainless steel with the balance (30 per cent) fermented in contact with a combination of new and used French oak. Approximately 15 per cent of the total blend also underwent secondary, malo-lactic fermentation, to develop a softened, cream-like character to balance beautifully with the abundant fruit palate. All wine parcels remained on yeast lees for up to 11 months with regular battonage, to contribute richness and complexity to the finished wine.

Hanwood's secret is a cascade of fruit from McWilliam's extensive vineyard networks. A whopping 40% of cool climate fruit from top regions (Yarra, Tumbarumba, etc) ensures that this stone fruit-focused style remains fresh, zesty and citrusy. Score: 89 points; Tyson Stelzer

Nutty complexity and restrained, floral and lemon fruit nose. Dense, rich fruit palate with intense long, mineral notes. Long, pure and delicate. 4 1/2  Stars; Decanter

In 1853 Thomas Hardy, the founder of Hardys wines, bought a large block of land alongside the banks of the Torrens River, three miles west of Adelaide, South Australia. It was here that he built Hardys Bankside Cellars. Sadly the cellars were destroyed by fire in 1905. This wine is a tribute to Thomas Hardys first cellar, which is depicted through an original photograph on the front label.

The Bankside Chardonnay is pale straw in colour, and exhibits aromas of peach and white pear. On the palate the wine displays intense peach, balanced with soft vanillin oak. This medium bodied chardonnay has with creamy yeast characters on the mid palate and a lemon citrus finish. This wine has been crafted to drink as a young wine.

This wine is full of character and flavour, while also offering exceptional value. Fruit for this wine was sourced from wine regions in South Eastern Australia, and was both mechanically harvested and hand picked in the cool of the night in order to retain freshness of flavour. After the fruit was crushed it was transferred to stainless steel tanks were it underwent a temperature controlled fermentation. A small portion has been exposed to oak, adding another dimension to this wine.

An amalgam of savoury restraint and complexity, and powerfully concentrated fruit; grapefruit, charcuterie, struck match and toasty oak all have a part to play; the palate is raw in its power, long, expansive and a take-no-prisoners approach to the variety; done impressively, and done well. Drinking: to 2020 Rating: 96 Points; James Halliday Wine Companion

97 Points - Jeremy Oliver

Citrus, crystallised ginger, lemongrass, stonefruit and a little struck match wilderness – it’s characterful and interesting for sure, not least for a ‘big company’ wine. Racy and spicy with tight acidity, plays cool and warm at the same time, with a little cape gooseberry exotica thrown in for good measure. Its scintillating purity and super length set it apart from the pack. Yes. And yes again for Tasmanian Chardonnay. Rated : 95 Points Tasted : Nov11 Alcohol : 13.5%. Price : $65 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2011 - 2019; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front

If Margaret River was the place to buy Cab Sav from the 2007 vintage, then make a mental (or a very prominent written) note that it is the place to buy Chardonnay from the 2008 vintage. Most of the 'supers' are yet to be released, the Leeuwin’s, Voyager's, Brookland's and Howard Park's are a little way off but ex-Howard Park and now Hay Shed Hill boss has released a stunning reminder of his super-powers with the Hay Shed Hill Margaret River Chardonnay 2008. Not just that, but it is this year's lowest priced 96-points Halliday rated Chardonnay and proves that drinking at this level is not a rich man's sport.

If you are after a big, fat, cream-laden, wood dripping Chardonnay, this will not be your bag. This wine is about restraint and elegance. It is about white fleshy and stone fruit characters. Persistence and line through a long finish and some subtle acidity providing the texture. The wine does enjoy some barrel ferment but as with any premium Chardonnay, this does not dominate the wine. A further string to this wines bow is at 12.5& alcohol, it doesn’t leave you with the feeling that you have gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. Excellent stuff. Drink: Now - 2014; Quality: Excellent - BW; WineStar © August 2008

Only free run juice was used in making this wine. This component of the juice is the highest in quality with the most intense fruit expression and the lowest in undesirable phenolic skin characters. The juice was fermented and matured in French oak barriques for approximately 11 months. The wine displays fresh green tinges to a very pale straw colour. The wine exhibits fresh cut pear and honey dew melon aromas with some zesty citric notes. The palate is fresh and lively with clean crisp acidity complementing the vibrant fruity flavours. The palate has very good extension and ends clean and bright.

Notwithstanding the same modest alcohol as Pitchfork, has much greater intensity of flavour and also length; while barrel-fermented in French oak (11 months maturation) fruit, rather than oak, drives the wine. Screwcap. 12.5% alc. Rating 96 Points Drink 2018 $25 Date Tasted Dec 08 James Halliday Wine Companion

Michael Kerrigan makes pristine wines and he’s now got the Hay Shed Hill wines humming. This chardonnay is lovely. Elegant, pure, modestly flavoured and 100 percent satisfying. It tastes of grapefruit and nectarine and toasty oak and it all floats through your mouth with delicate ease. Nice length. Noticeably low alcohol. Already drinking well though it’s so fine and acidic that it will likely drink better given another six months in bottle. Lovely in an understated way. Rated : 91 Points Alcohol : 12.5% Price : $24 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2010 - 2012 - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

To capture the vivid fruit flavors and beautiful balance, we hand-harvested the Chardonnay grapes in the cool morning hours. Following harvest, we allowed some time for skin contact to draw some phenolics, and chilled the fruit to 6?C. This was followed by a gentle pressing, with no enzyme addition. We fermented the grapes with minimal inoculated yeast to add layers of complexity and heighten vineyard expression. After an average of 7 days of fermentation at 18-21?C some of the wine (30%) was drawn off into oak and the remaining portion remained in Stainless Steel. Time was allowed on yeast lees with occasional stirring to give further complexity and smoothness. Following more than ten months of barrel aging (25% new oak), the wine was blended and bottled. Winemaker Franco D'Anna
 
Franco d’Anna is a highly skilled and intuitive winemaker, in touch with the grapes from the moment they are formed, then picked, pressed and fermented and French oak matured. You either get the purity, balance and finesse of this wine, or you don’t. 95 Points James Halliday, The Australian.

While technically located in Bourgogne, Chablis is the style that Hoddles Creek Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2010 most closely resembles - and has done so for many years. A bright straw colour, the bouquet shows trademark Hoddles white fleshy and stone fruit characters. In the mouth the fruit is as ever tightly bound and I would hazard a guess that this release will sit quite nicely alongside the Pinot in the cellar for the short term. The 2010 takes the textural element to another level. Wonderful steeliness, minerality and lurking in the background a hint of funk and spicy oak. The acid on the back completes the deal. I've been a long time advocate of cellaring this - but it makes it hard not enjoying this on release. Resist the urge, put a few down and watch it develop into something quite special. Drink: Now-2018; Quality: Excellent BW; WineStar© April 2011
 
This was lucky No.31 in a blind tasting and one of the best wines on the night. There’s a bit of fuss over Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir, but invariably the Chardonnay is their star turn (and Pinot Blanc). I tasted it quickly so the note is not ‘in depth’ but it’s enough; the quality was clear. A little sulphide and struck match complexity, citrus, almonds and white peach. A fine, flinty, linear spicy style with strong ‘Chablis-like’ lines and excellent length of palate. Beautifully made. A stylish, confident wine that has something to say. And, most importantly, it’s good to drink too. Rated : 94 Points Tasted : May11 Alcohol : 13.2% Price : $18.99 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2012 - 2018; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front
 
Hoddles Creek Estate is excellent value, always around $20. Only fruit from its own vineyards goes into this label and the 2010 vintage is turning out to be particularly smart for whites showing purity of fruit. This has plenty of citrus, white stone fruit and ginger spice notes, slatey and minerally. It's quite linear in focus but generous with its savoury overtones, hint of creaminess mid-palate and nuttiness from the lees contact before a long, lingering finish. It will also age nicely for the next five-plus years. Janes Faulkner; The Age – Epicure

The full monty of premium chardonnay craftsmanship: Upper Yarra fruit, hand harvested, barrel fermented on full solids and stirred on lees for eleven months. To put it another way, all the clever tricks and TLC of the talented Franco d’Anna at a fraction of its true value. 92 Points Tyson Stelzer, Wine Taste

Pale straw colour. Lemon rind and marzipan notes on the bouquet. The fruit is restrained, and there is considerable strength and some thickness to the texture on the palate. Not at all fat, but rich - this richness is combined with a Riesling-like strictness. The wine flows across the palate with evenness and depth. Flavours of straw, almond, fennel, jelly crystals, and lime juice, with length and intensity that it is a hallmark of Faultline.

A powerful and complex bouquet dominated by mineral complexity and offset with pure lemon aromas; there is real nervosity and tension to the palate, with acid providing a taut backbone to the layered, complex and intriguing fruit components; the final element is the incredible length and the manner in which the wine continues to open up long after it is gone. Cork. 13% alc. Drink 2016 $52 Date Tasted Jan 09; 96 Points – James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2010 Edition.

Austere and briney, this long, delicate chardonnay is scented with white flowers, cloves and cinnamon, suggestions of struck match, waxy notes of wheatmeal and funky, meaty undertones. It's lean and mineral, very dry and savoury, with a slightly metallic note and persistent citrus/melon fruit.(18.2/93, YTD 2012-2015) – Jeremy Oliver

A tribute to the brand's history, recalling the year that our founders established the winery in the Clare Valley. This range of soft,  flavoursome wines is both easy to drink and easy to appreciate. Premium fruit is sourced from Australia's diverse wine regions for consistency and quality.

Medium straw with green hues, this wine displays ripe tropical fruit, with peach and melon aromas and subtly sweet vanilla oak overtones. The palate is medium to full bodied, rich in tropical peach flavours, with subtle oak, creating a soft, round and creamy mouthfeel. A complex wine with a pleasant, lingering finish.

The Magnus Chardonnay is a new extension for Leasingham that acknowledges the year the winery was founded, and exhibiting the qualities that Leasingham wines are renowned for: generosity, drinkability and excellent value for money. This Chardonnay is a great wine from the new Leasingham Magnus range, a full bodied chardonnay rich in flavour and complexity.

From one of the region's coolest growing seasons. A complex array of nectarine, grapefruit and spice is offered on the bouquet; the palate exhibits understated power, with grilled nuts supporting the generous, yet refined, level of stone fruit and oak; the finish is staggeringly long, fine and complex. Screwcap $96; From: Margaret River, WA. Drink: to 2021 with milk fed veal. 97 points & Halliday’s Top 100 Wines for 2009 – The Weekend Australian November 14-15, 2009

Bright and youthful colour; a complex array of nectarine, grapefruit and spice, particularly cinnamon, is offered on the bouquet; the palate exhibits understated power, with grilled nuts supporting the very generous, yet refined, level of stone fruit and oak; the finish is staggeringly long, fine and complex. The adoption (since '05) of screwcaps has brought a collective sigh of relief from its many admirers. Drink: 2011. Margaret River produces Australia's most complex chardonnays and this wine sits at the very top. 97 points; James Halliday, The Weekend Australian, 18-19th April, 2009

This was tasted a year ago at the estate but was buried in a longer post on a range of Leeuwin Estate wines - it’s time it was given it’s own place on the site. This wine has not been re-tasted since this note was written in January 2008. To my tastes this is as good as a young Art Series gets. It’s a fantastically restrained, lengthy, elegant wine, its mass of flavour coiled so tight and intricately that it almost presents as delicate. It tastes of grapefruit, fresh-cut lemons, toast, sawdusty oak and green apples. It is very, very long. This vintage was very cool, and it has produced an exceptionally tight, reserved, sophisticated wine that should age for a good long time. Not in-your-face and obvious, but classic. Rated : 97 Points Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2012 - 2018 Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

This was tasted in July 2008, nearly seven months before its release date. One of the leanest and tightest Art Series, but you'd expect this from such a vintage. Nonetheless, there is great depth and power in the tight structure, with stacks of grapefriut meal and subtle roasted cashew. The cool year resulted in one of the highest malo contributions in Art Series but has added immeasurably to the wine. Need I say it, but this will be another great Leeuwin. 97 points; Ray Jordan, the West Australian, Ray Jordan's WA Wine Guide 2009

2006 Art Series is one of the very greatest vintages of one of Australia's top Chardonnays ever made. On a world scale, this is as good as Chardonnay ever gets anywhere outside of Burgundy. It strikes the quintessential balance between control and concentration, power and finesse. Its length is so heroic that minutes later nothing has changed the slightest bit in the mouth. As far as 'art labels' go, we would prefer this to a bottle of Mouton-Rothschild. Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer, Taste Food & Wine 2009

The colour is brilliant and youthful green straw. The nose shows the influence of the coolest growing season experienced in Margaret River with the usually dominate ripe stone fruit taking a backseat to the more refined grapefruit, granny smith apples and almonds. The palate shows incredible restraint with a youthful freshness of grapefruit and citrus characteristics. The wine is astonishingly focused across the palate with a lingering finish of citrus blossom, the wine evolves with a fine line of acid to help provide the remarkable length of flavour that persists in the mouth minutes after drinking. Winemaker's Tasting Notes

Pale, bright straw-green; fragrant grapefruit, melon and white peach aromas, the oak subtle and integrated, are followed by an exceptionally intense and long palate, the alcohol lost in the sea of flavour. Drink to 2022 , Screwcap, 14.5% alc. 96 points; James Halliday – The Weekend Australian November 13-14, 2010

Where do you start with Leeuwin chardonnay, consistently Australia's great chardonnay and some would argue our greatest white wine. This is typical of the style with delicate fine grapefruit and cereal nuances, lightly spice and cinnamon, plus a little creaminess. The palate is restrained (this was tasted eight months prior to release) yet there is the classic combination of power and delicacy. Although it was picked quite ripe it's still quite reserved. 97 Points; Cellar: 12 years Ray Jordan's 2010 WA Wine Guide
 
Classic Leeuwin dried pear with nectarine and plenty of spicy oak (that’s already looking unusually well integrated at such an early age, I might add) and savoury toasty flavours. There’s a particularly strong hazelnut flavour here too, that I really enjoy. It has very fine acidity and just a little warmth, but the weight and power smooths it out admirably. And yet for all that it’s not a heavy wine either and has a dashing sense of finesse and elegance. Length is exemplary with a spicy aftertaste. A top vintage, no doubt. Rated : 96 Points Tasted : Mar10 Alcohol : 14.5% Price : $95 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2011 - 2017+ Gary Walsh; The Wine Front 

Firmer and tighter than last year's '06, 2007 Art Series Chardonnay seems to have all of the attributes required to make it a must-have wine for any Chardonnay lover. There is finesse here and layers of fruit which peel gently away to reveal a golden core. Like the 2007s in Burgundy, this wine is built around its stunning, cliff-hanger acidity and naked energy. It is a crime to drink it early, but we don't mind a little flirting with the law! Matthew Jukes, 100 Best Australian Wines 2010.

While South-Eastern Australia ducks and dodges successive heatwaves, droughts, frost and bushfires, Margaret River coasts through one vintage-of-the-decade after another. Here comes along another epic Art Series, a beautiful confluence of zesty citrus and lemon curd with nutmeg, cinnamon spice and perfectly integrated cashew nut oak. The purity of its lemon blossom, grapefruit and just-picked white peach fruit completely engulfs 100 percent new oak. Lingering minerality completes a very pretty picture indeed. 96 Points; Tyson Stelzer

The colour is a brilliant straw green. An incredibly complex and lifted bouquet of ripe golden pear skin, peach, savoury toasted ground almonds and white nectarine. This wine is showing multiple layers of fruit and subtle class driven French oak. The result of very low yielding vines matched with subtle winemaking preserves the richness and intensity of fruit. The palate displays a full bodied vibrant wine on the entry, with a creaminess and intense purity of fruit. Pear, nectarine and peaches are the main fruit flavours followed by a subtle sweet spice and almonds. The flavours are seamlessly long with a wonderful natural acid finish. Leeuwin Estate
 
Still pale quartz-green; the finesse of Art Series Chardonnay when it is young is every bit as enjoyable as is the complexity it gains after six or seven years in bottle (under screwcap), its future still assured. We know that good bottles from the mid-1980s are still glorious, although most are now a shadow of their former selves. What we don't really know is how long the wines such as this live and flourish under screwcap. From Margaret River, WA; Drink to 2028 with Margaret River abalone; Rating: 96 points, $89, Screwcap, 13.5% alc; James Halliday Top 100 for 2011; The Weekend Australian, November 19th

Although tasted a good 8 months before release this appears to be one of the most delicate and restrained of all Leeuwin Art Series chardies. Yet, in keeping with this famous block, there is depth and power of extraordinary intensity. The palate is woven into a tight lean thread moving with relentless precision to a very long finish. There's some minerally tightness and a bracing acidity that holds it all together. Destined for greatness. Rating: 98 Points (100); Ray Jordan's 2011 WA Wine Guide
 
How good is the soon-to-be released 2008 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay? This is another great Leeuwin chardonnay of length, sophistication and poise. The fruit is superb and it has been brilliantly handled. To place it in perspective, at the moment the 2008 wine is just behind the six superstar Leeuwin chardonnays (the wines from ’82, ’87, ’95, ’01, ’02 and ’05) and as such it is clearly among the greatest 16 to 20 Australian chardonnays ever. Do you buy this for cellaring? The answer is a resounding yes. Those interested can try pre-release bottles at either of the Leeuwin Estate Roxy Music concerts at the weekend of February 19 – though the wine’s official release date will be closer to April. RRP: $96.00; Rating: 18.9 Points (20); John Jens; West Australian Wine Identity
 
Most impressions in retailer-ville are based on a quick look at wines which is not always ideal. Obviously anything that takes a fancy is looked at over the course of a day, sometimes two and in some instances we look at more than one bottle. On the consumption side, I would be lucky to 'drink' one in 20 wines and even then we are talking the equivalent to a couple of 'shots' (60ml). That said, I drank (as opposed to tasted) copious amounts of Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2008 in Margaret River recently. Sure, I feel like a greedy guts but this is as close to a White Burgundy I reckon I have seen from Leeuwin. The nose shows lovely white fleshy fruit with hints of roasted nuts. It is remarkably intense in the mouth with lashings of pure fruit balanced by bracing acidity and a line of minerality that Leeuwin has showed more and more of this decade. The 2008 nails it, it is technically perfect and as it broadens and fills out, my rating is likely to be just that. I already have it as "Exceptional" with room to grow so a high-90s score for the point chasers is definitely on the cards. Now – 2020+; Quality: Exceptional BW; WineStar© February 2011

A finer, leaner and more focused Art Series Chardonnay that retains much of its youthful character. A slightly reserved bouquet of grapefruit, lime juice, ginger and cinnamon, backed by suggestions of minerals, grilled nuts and waxiness with intensity and perfume. Smooth and supple, its exceptionally long and fine, revealing a core of crunchy, freshly sliced fruit that slowly moves down the palate, finishing with brightness, brittleness, zesty acids true emphasis and first rate persistence. Gourmet Traveller Wine, June/July Edition 2011

This is Australian chardonnay at its finest. Part of the Art Series premise if longevity - wines to age. The '08 will be a stayer up to 10 years plus; now it's revealing a core of fruit - grapefruit, melon and white nectarines - with spice notes, minerally and fine on the palate. Margaret River chardonnays tend to have a lovely roundness to them, almost plushness, but in this case it's reined in by nice acidity followed by a long and persistent finish. Jane Faulkner, The Age, May 2011

The nose is vibrant and concentrated with aromas of pear, hand picked peach and lime. Beneath lie layers of lemon curd and fig. Lifted frangipani, subtle cinnamon and peanut brittle provide further complexity.

The palate is delicately textured with pear, ruby grapefruit and white peach. Hints of wild honey and cashew add complexity to a palate which exudes balanced weight and persistent length.

An excellent vintage of Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay from Leeuwin Estate.

Only 186 Dozen made! Australian Chardonnay has never been in better form. This is up there with some of the best. These vines in Woori Yallock were planted in 1994 on a southerly aspect. This is always Mac's finest Chardonnay site and again in 2010 it has delivered. It's all class with a tightly focused core of crystallised, cool climate stone fruits, floral and spice notes, and a delicious creamy texture. There's a hint of solidsy complexity but it's very restrained. There is also a hint of grip and ultra fine acidity lending shape and length. Extremely long and simply delicious. We recommend this brilliant wine very highly.

The top of the chardonnay offering from Mac Forbes has an uncompromising purity and precision about it - the sort of stuff that makes for truly engaging drinking. The nose sits in the citrus spectrum, with lemon pith, grapefruit peel and some biscuity oak spice adding early complexity. The palate's seamless and crystalline, with piercing acid drive, citrus and white peach flavours, green almond and a bracingly fresh finish. Superb wine. 96 points. Nick Stock, Good Wine Guide, 2012.