Hunter Valley, NSW Adelaide Hills, SA Chardonnay Wines

Chardonnay accounts for more than 50% of Australia's white wine production, which goes to show that despite falling out of fashion in the 90s (all that heavily oaked stuff went the way of bike shorts and the Tamagotchi), Aussie winemakers are making Chardonnay great again.

And that’s great news, because the Chardonnay grape is adaptable (it’s used in loads of sparkling wines as well as on its own), easy to grow, and ripens early. It can handle almost the whole gamut of winemaking techniques… cool climate, warm climate; cool ferments, warm ferments, wild ferments; no oak (OK, maybe that’s like drinking flat Coke… doable but not guaranteed to please), some new oak, 100% brand new oak… you get the idea – it’s hardy.

The huge, buttery, oaky Chardonnay wines of the 70s are rarer these days, and now you’re more likely to find wines that are balanced, with oak, quality fruit and varying degrees of complexity and persistence of flavour. Like the selection below, which has been tasted and heartily approved by our tasting panel!