Best chardonnays blend ripened fruit flavours with cool-climate freshness and subtle French oak

Chardonnay is back, baby! Here’s the reason a new generation of wine fans are lapping up the most golden of white wines.

Chardonnay 2.0 exudes freshness and elegance.

Chardonnay is back, baby! Bigger and better than ever.

Actually, certainly better but not necessarily bigger in style.

If you’re old enough to remember the chardonnay craze of the 1980s and ’90s, you may also recall that those big oaky styles got bigger and bolder until everyone got sick of sucking on a tree.

Today, leading Australian winemakers are finessing chardonnay into a modern, elegant wine that balances fresh pristine fruit flavours with subtle characters such as vanilla, cashews, oatmeal, cinnamon and nutmeg from a more restrained use of oak.

Throw in a zesty burst of refreshing natural acidity and you have a style that’s creating a new golden era for Australian chardonnay.

The Australian Wine Club’s deal of the week salutes the revival of the Queen of Grapes with four beautifully balanced wines from three of Australia’s best chardonnay regions and a cracker from the French motherland of Burgundy.

RedHeads chief winemaker Alex Trescowthick, who made the RedHeads Blue Belle Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, believes the stamp of modern Australian chardonnay is freshness and elegance.

RedHeads chief winemaker Alex Trescowthick takes care not to ‘overpower the fruit with oak’.

As the newly elected president of Adelaide Hills Wine Region, Alex also says cool-climate regions like the Hills are winning global recognition for producing wines with crisp citrus flavours and refreshing natural acidity.

His views are reflected in the data: chardonnay has overtaken shiraz as Australia’s top export wine variety for the first time in more than 12 years. Chardonnay exports grew by 11 per cent compared to the previous year, according to official data from Wine Australia.

“Chardonnay is flying,’’ Alex says. “You see it in the prices people are paying for grapes as well – around the Adelaide Hills, I’d say chardonnay prices are up at least 10 per cent.”

He says RedHeads is focusing on producing cool-climate chardonnay from the Hills, which has a climate not dissimilar to Burgundy and Alsace. “We have cool nights that help grapes retain their natural acids but also warmer days that help ripen the fruit,’’ he says. “You’re looking for that lemony, citrus zing with lovely fruit flavours. When it comes to oak, we’re using fine-grain French hogsheads that are lightly toasted – we don’t want to overpower the fruit with oak.”

There’s no doubt, chardonnay 2.0 is cool – so join the party with these selections.

RedHeads Blue Belle Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2022

This 95-pointer is a poster child for beautifully balanced, modern, cool-climate Australian chardonnay that has us reaching for another glass. Packed with yellow peach and stone fruit flavours, laced with hints of nougat, lemon curd, shortbread and spice. Zesty acidity zips to a clean finish. Matured in French oak for eight months. Fruit sourced from a family-run vineyard near Lobethal. 95 points from Winestate magazine. Over-delivers. 12.5% alc; RRP $30 a bottle.

SPECIALS $25.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.

Domaine Bertagna Bourgogne Blanc Les Croix Blanches 2020

If you enjoy white burgundy and a good price in equal measure, jump in! Created by a small, family domaine, with grapes just outside Nuits-Saint-George, this punches well above its weight. You’ll find expressive aromas of ripe nectarines, peaches, lemon rind and camomile tea, leading to a creamy palate of stone fruits, pear and vanilla notes with a gentle minerality on the finish – a signature of Burgundy’s terroir. Extraordinary value in this deal. 13% alc; RRP $55 a bottle.

SPECIALS $49.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.

Miles From Nowhere Best Blocks Margaret River Chardonnay 2021

 

From the prized Wilyabrup subregion comes a classic Margaret River chardonnay that strikes a good balance between rich fruit and delicious savoury characters. White nectarine, lemon, burnt fig and toffee aromas entice, while fresh stone fruits and lemon flavours flow through the palate, melding with almond meal, vanilla and shortbread nuances. Natural acidity refreshes and pushes through to a long finish. Won double gold at the China Wine & Spirits Competition and golds at the Frankfurt International Wine Show and International Wine Awards (Spain). 13.5% alc; RRP $26 a bottle.

SPECIALS $23.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.

Allegiance Wines Unity Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2022

Born in the Snowy Mountains, this cool-climate charmer sings a tune of tropical notes, featuring pineapples, passionfruit and bananas, with a spray of vanilla essence on the nose. Honeydew melon and pineapple flavours are fused with crisp, clean acidity, refreshing the palate. Matured in new and seasoned French oak for 10 months. 95 points from Wine Orbit. 12.5% alc; RRP $60 a bottle.

SPECIALS $44.99 a bottle in any dozen; $28.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.

SPECIAL CHARDONNAY DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $28.99 a bottle. SAVE $165 a dozen

Order online or telephone [phone] Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550