Golden chardonnays from southern France, Tumbarumba, Margaret River, Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale

Created in one of Australia’s coldest vineyards, this white dances like a ballerina but punches out flavours like a heavyweight.

Chardonnay is never out of fashion.

“It whispers to you,’’ winemaker Jason Brown says of a chardonnay created in one of Australia’s coldest vineyards. “It’s light on its feet, delicate, but so full of intensity and power.”

We’re talking about Coppabella’s 2021 single-vineyard chardonnay from Tumbarumba – a wine that has instantly altered my understanding of just how good cool-climate chardonnay can be.

The Coppabella is one of six chardonnays in The Australian Wine Club’s deal of the week, offering an array of styles and regions to explore, from Margaret River to Yarra Valley, via McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills, and then on to France’s Limoux appellation in the southwest.

Judging by your responses to this column, chardonnay is never out of fashion, even if styles vary from full-bodied with strong oak-influenced flavours such as vanilla, toast and caramel to refreshing, fruit-driven wines with little or minimal oak influence. All the chardonnays in our line-up have some oak influence but offer a nice balance of fruit, with subtle variations of flavour and palate weight (how heavy the wine feels in your mouth) between the different wines.

The Coppabella dances into your mouth, as light as a feather, before an intensity of pure fruit flavour explodes, surprising the senses. The combination is electric – and speaks of a unique vineyard in the Snowy Mountains our club president James Halliday has described as “exceptional”.

Jason, and his wife, Alecia Brown, began buying fruit from the Coppabella vineyard about 15 years ago for their highly successful Moppity venture at Hilltops in southern New South Wales. The vineyard’s quality was already well known to Penfolds, where winemakers were using Coppabella chardonnay in their “white Grange”, Yattarna.

When the owners fell on tough times in 2011, and with the vines on the verge of being pulled out, Jason and Alecia convinced the bank to back their purchase of the 175-acre vineyard.

“It’s not an easy place to grow grapes,’’ Jason says. “Winter is bitterly cold; you can get severe frosts in spring and the terrain is so steep that it can be dangerous for tractors – we’ve had machines roll.”

The upside is that the vineyard experiences a wide temperature range, from warm days above 30C to cold nights down to -10C. This allows the grapes to ripen slowly while retaining natural acid.

The 2021 vintage was cool and wet, creating a longer than normal growing season. “I remember thinking this fruit could be really awesome if we can just get it over the line, but the vintage really did teeter on the brink ,’’ Jason says. “It came down to good weather saving us in the last three weeks – something of a miracle.”

Throughout his winemaking life, Jason has adopted the view that sites and varieties should be chosen with the aim of making truly world-class wines. “Many of the regions in Australia can make good chardonnay but are too warm to make world-class, cool-climate chardonnay – you can only really do it in Tasmania and Tumba, and a few other places.”

Coppabella of Tumbarumba Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

About 70 per cent of the 2021 was fermented in stainless steel while 30 per cent was whole bunch-pressed and matured in used French oak for 10 months. Fresh flavours of green apple, honeydew melon and limes zip across the palate to be met with creamy cashew nut notes, running together along a steely line of acidity to a long refreshing finish. Mesmerising on a hot afternoon. Relatively low alcohol for a chardonnay. 12.5% alc; RRP $27 a bottle.

SPECIALS $21.99 a bottle in any dozen; $20.83 in chardonnay dozen

Moss Brothers Moses Rock Margaret River Chardonnay 2022

Superb value for Margaret River chardonnay. Perfumed nose of nectarines, lychees and rockmelon. Fresh acidity and well integrated oak, balancing a hint of creaminess and spice with clean minerality on the finish. 90 points from Wine Pilot’s Ken Gargett. 13% alc; RRP $32 a bottle.

SPECIALS $19.99 a bottle in any dozen; $20.83 in chardonnay dozen

TarraWarra Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2018

Yarra royalty. Winemaker Adam McCallum has produced an intense wine with stone fruits, citrus and cashew nut flavours persisting through to a long finish. The chardonnay was sourced from 17- to 34 year-old vines, hand-picked and whole bunch-pressed. About half the fruit was fermented in tank for freshness and the other in new and seasoned French oak for texture. 95 points from Halliday. Unbelievable value in this deal. 13.2% alc; RRP $34 a bottle.

SPECIALS $29.99 a bottle in any dozen; $20.83 in chardonnay dozen

La Voute Selection Terroir 2021

 

Luscious gold medal-winning chardonnay from Limoux’s high vineyards in France’s southwest, imported exclusively by our wine club partners. Ripe peach and honey flavours balanced with lemon pudding and spiced apples. Complex toasty vanilla and cream on a persistent finish. Could be confused for a Meursault. 14% alc; $34 a bottle.

SPECIALS $26.99 a bottle in any dozen; $20.83 in chardonnay dozen

d’Arenberg The Witches Berry McLaren Vale Chardonnay 2021

White peaches, ripe pineapple, honeydew melon and orange blossom on the palate, with hazelnut, nougat and vanilla notes. Sixty per cent of the wine was matured for seven months in old French oak. Fresh natural acidity and a citrusy finish. 13.5% alc; RRP $26 a bottle.

SPECIALS $23.99 a bottle in any dozen; $20.83 in chardonnay dozen

The Kings’ Creed Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2020

Crafted by acclaimed winemaker Ben Riggs. Bigger style, with mouth-filling apple, stone fruit and citrus flavours, with a hint of nougat and vanilla and a touch of spice. Fermented in old French oak barrels and left on lees for six months. Perfect for lunch with your favourite fish, chips and fried calamari. 13% alc. RRP $25 a bottle. SPECIALS $17.99 a bottle in any dozen; $20.83 in chardonnay dozen

CHARDONNAY DEAL Two bottles of each wine above for $20.83 a bottle. SAVE $156 a dozen.

Order online or phone [phone] Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm AEST. Deals available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.