For thirty years Pepper Tree has been a beacon for quality wine in the heart of Hunter wine country. Founded in 1991 it continues to flourish as one of the stalwart wine companies of the region. Pepper Tree started with a focus on grapes from the Hunter Valley but today the roots run deep with vineyard sites in four premium wine growing regions across Australia situated in the Hunter and Orange in NSW to prized patches of soil in Coonawarra and Wrattonbully in South Australia. 

Produced from Bernard 76 clone Chardonnay vines on our Wrattonbully vineyard, the 2022 vintage produced very small crops leading to concentrated flavours and excellent acid balance. Careful handling with a judicious use of oak and lees stirring has crafted a well structured and complex Chardonnay with a generous creamy palate.

Matured in French oak barrels, 20% new for 10 months' ageing. Yellow dandelion, sunflower and peach cheeks. A cloud of whipped meringue and clotted cream. Oak spice is toasty with brown spices of nutmeg and cumin, savoury rather than sweet spiced. Fruit freshness is clearly of interest, the palate quite linear and runs straight down the line. An interesting bottling to the chardonnay lineup for Pepper Tree, providing a midway point for oaked chardonnay lovers. Date: Dec 2024 Alcohol: 13%; Price: $55.00; Drink by: 2030; Rating: 93 Points; James Halliday Wine Companion

Full-bodied chardonnay never went out of style, it just became – for a period – a bit harder to find. This is a full-bodied chardonnay and a good one at that, though it still presents a fresh face to the world. It tastes of peaches and pears for the most part, but it also carries an infusion of smoked cedarwood, and the barest whisper of melted butter too. What this wine really does though is fill your glass with flavour, and keep the flavours going long through the finish as well. It’s a beaut. Alcohol: 13%; Price: $55.00 Rating: 93 Points; Campbell Mattinson