DOMAINE MICHELE & PATRICE RION Terres Blanches, 1er Cru , Nuits-St-Georges

One of the rare Penfolds wines that is 100% single-regional, the Reserve Bin A Chardonnay is sourced from super premium sites in the Adelaide Hills resulting in a fresh, mineral style that lies at the forefront of the modern Chardonnay style. A wine that will always be linked with 'White Grange', Penfolds Yattarna: This 2014 vintage shows a palate of Granny Smith apples, lemon curd with a pure chalky texture and a lengthy finish.

Vat 47 from the Hunter Valley has a silky bouquet of melon stone fruit and creamy oak that is followed by a palate of extraordinary balance and length. An absolute classic and will only get better with some medium term ageing.

Gary Farr is still one of Victoria's true Chardonnay maestro's and his Chardonnay By Farr is another example. Taken from the original By Farr vineyard, this is a clearly a wine of true clarity and finesse. Flavours of melon and hints of spice with wonderful oak integration mean this wine is simply delicious upon release, but handle some careful medium-term cellaring.

Soaring and intense white peach fruits, interwoven nuttiness, crème brûlée, and a heightened leesy texture framed by bracing acidity.A square-jawed Bin A with undoubted opulence on the nose and also on the initial hit of flavour on the palate, but the gate comes down early doors and it leaves you with the notion that you have just been locked out of a very promising party. Unlike Bin 311, I think that this wine will segue smoothly into a ravishing beauty, given a few years, after all, it has an epic track record on its side. The fruit has flashes of white peach and Comice pear but the overriding theme is ‘white’, with blanche neige purity and a more than a little gusto under the bonnet. This is one of the most impressive and consistently excellent Chardonnays in the country and 2019 continues this impeccable track record. 19+/20 (Drink 2023 – 2032) - Matthew Jukes.

AR Lenoble Champagne AR Lenoble is one of the rare producers in Champagne that has been consistently family-owned and entirely independent since the very beginning. In just over twenty years, the sister and brother owners have quietly yet confidently transformed AR Lenoble into one of the jewels of the Champagne region. The wine is of course made from 100% Chardonnay grapes sourced from the grand cru village of Chouilly and originating from one exceptional vintage. 25% of the blend is vinified in oak while the ageing takes place in magnums and the final wine receives a minimal dosage only (2g/l). The resulting wine is dry, exceptionally balanced and complex with great intensity and persistence. A phenomenally fresh palate despite its vintage.

Plenty of citrus here, along with delicate floral notes. Delicate and long lived. Enjoyble now, or for manny years to come.