Yarra Valley winery Levantine Hill releases $600 Optume chardonnay

A Yarra Valley winery has released one of the most expensive chardonnays in Australia— but is it worth the exxy price-tag?

Wave goodbye to the Kath and Kim cheap cask cardonnay era.

A Yarra Valley winery has released one of the most expensive single-vintage white wines in Australia, costing an eye-watering $600 a bottle.

Levantine Hill’s 2020 Optume chardonnay is priced higher than Penfold’s iconic Yattarna, Beechworth’s famed Giaconda and even Halliday Wine Companion chardonnay of the year: Stella Bella Wines Luminosa.

Winemaker Paul Bridgeman said the winery, owned by the affluent Jreissati family, wanted to create an Australian chardonnay comparable to the world’s best Burgundy wines.

“It was our vision to craft an exceptional expression of Australian chardonnay that resonates with quality that is comparable with the aspirational benchmarked examples from our favourite producers in Burgundy,” he said.

Levantine Hill head winemaker Paul Brigeman is taking chardonnay to new heights with the Yarra Valley winery's latest Optume release — which will be among the most expensive single vintage chardonnays in Australia. Picture: Jason Edwards

Would you spend $600 on a new-release chardonnay? Levantine Hill winemaker Paul Bridgeman is hoping so. Picture: Jason Edwards

“The pricing of this wine shows our confidence in achieving this aim and we are sure the consumer will see value in this rare handcrafted wine”.

This is Optume’s second vintage release, and first chardonnay under the premium label, following its shiraz and cabernet sauvignon release last year. Only 55 dozen (660 bottles) have been made.

Bridgeman said Optume heroed fruit sourced from seven Yarra Valley vineyards (about 75 per cent from Levantine Hill plots) to celebrate the region’s great growing season

“We wanted to feature the strengths of the assemblage of various Yarra Valley sites and not the strengths of an oak forest in France. There is oak that’s structural, but its supporting rather than dominating.”

Levantine Hill has also released its second vintage of 2018 Optume shiraz.

“There will be no 2018 Optume Cabernet Sauvignon released this year, but the 2019 is looking wonderful,” he said.