Think you know Aussie Chardonnay? Think again… While Australia’s generous oaked Chardonnays first won international success, winemaking styles have evolved. Today winemakers across Australia – a vast country that’s home to 65 designated wine regions – produce a variety of unique, terroir-driven expressions of Chardonnay.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the state of Victoria, where Chardonnay is the most-planted white grape. Located in the far southeastern corner of Australia, it’s home to more wine regions and individual wineries than any other state. A varied tapestry of topography and climates – from maritime to Mediterranean, continental and even sub-alpine – gives innovative winemakers the tools to craft myriad styles of quality Chardonnay, each speaking deeply of a sense of place.
Vineyards at Yarra Yering, in Yarra Valley where cool-climate Chardonnay is produced. Credit: Wine Victoria.
Among Victoria’s 21 diverse regions, several Chardonnay hotspots stand out. In northeast Victoria, the tiny region of Beechworth, with just 134ha of vineyard, punches well above its weight in terms of world-class Chardonnay. Giaconda has recently grabbed headlines thanks to a succession of 100-point scores for its Chardonnay; being named top white wine in the world in Vinous magazine.
‘Beechworth has a true continental climate with warm to hot days and cool nights, plus high elevation at 400-600m,’ explains Giaconda winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner. ‘Our decomposed granite and clay soil, while not being limestone, seems to grow great Chardonnay because of its particular structure,’ he adds.
Vineyards at Polperro winery in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. Credit: Lost In Love Photography
‘It’s generally easy to get Chardonnay ripe in Beechworth, so vignerons who choose to do so can make wines of good volume and power. Interestingly though, the wines retain a reasonable acidity and minerality, and have good balance and length. Complex secondary flavours exist beside a refined but not overpowering fruit intensity.’
Also worth seeking out is Yarra Valley, Victoria’s oldest wine region, located 50km northeast of Melbourne. The cool-climate Chardonnays produced here are distinguished by their brisk acidity and pithy grapefruit citrus character. Names to know include Yarra Yering, Giant Steps, Oakridge, Coldstream Hills and Levantine Hill. Yarra’s single-vineyard expressions draw easy comparisons with Burgundy.
Coldstream Hills in Yarra Valley, Victoria’s oldest wine region where cool-climate Chardonnays are produced. Image supplied by Wine Victoria.
Meanwhile to the northwest of Melbourne lie the Macedon Ranges: Australia’s coolest mainland wine region, with vineyards at 300-800m. The mix of sandstone, shale, granitic and volcanic soils here give wines of exceptional purity and mineral character, exemplified by Bindi’s Quartz Chardonnay.
Both boasting a cool maritime climate, the regions of Mornington Peninsula and Geelong sit on opposite sides of Port Philip Bay, south of Melbourne. The latter is known for its rich, long-lived styles of Chardonnay, from top boutique producers such as By Farr. In Mornington, which is surrounded by water on three sides, no vineyard site is further than 7km from the ocean. Boutique production by names such as Paringa Estate, Crittenden Estate and Kooyong focuses on crisp, elegant and complex Chardonnays with a characteristic note of salinity.
Victoria produces a variety of unique, terroir-driven expressions of Chardonnay. Credit: Hugh Davison.
Finally, around 50 wineries are scattered across sprawling Gippsland, east of Melbourne, Victoria’s largest region. Winemaking here is defined by microclimates and low yields, allowing specific sites to shine. Expect highly distinctive wines from names such as Bass Phillip, William Downie and Patrick Sullivan, a Chardonnay specialist.
As you’ll see from the selection of wines below, Victoria’s winemakers can confidently lay claim to some of the most accomplished and thrilling Chardonnays that are being produced anywhere in the world. Get to know them – you won’t be disappointed.
Top Victoria Chardonnays: eight to try
Bass Phillip, Premium Chardonnay, Gippsland, Victoria 2022
The first vines were planted at Bass Phillip in Leongatha, the heart of Gippsland dairy country, in 1979. Burgundy luminary Jean-Marie Fourrier began consulting for the estate in 2002, purchasing it in 2020; today his brother-in-law, Adam ’Skip’ Francis manages the estate. Bass Phillip Pinot Noirs have been dubbed ‘the DRC of the southern hemisphere’ by Australian wine writer Max Allen; the estate’s Chardonnays share this Burgundian sensibility. Intense and concentrated, with impressive length to the creamy palate, layered with citrus, quince, nuts, herbal notes and a structured minerality, leading to a long, expansive finish. Delicious!
Drink 2025-2033 Alc 13.2%
Giaconda Estate Vineyard, Beechworth, Victoria 2022
Rick Kinzbrunner was a pioneer of Beechworth, when he planted his vineyard within sight of the Victorian Alps in 1982. Today Giaconda is best known for its Chardonnays. Handpicked, basket-pressed, then fermented and aged in French oak (around 30% new), this immediately seduces with harmonious and multifaceted aromas: toastiness, citrus, floral, mineral; gunflint. Incredible presence and depth on the palate, with delicious toastiness – honey and lemon curd on toast – with tense, nervy acidity and a finish that goes on and on. So impressive: a world class Chardonnay!
Drink 2025-2040 Alc 14%
Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria 2023
The high-elevation Sexton Vineyard was planted on the steep grey clay loam slopes of the Warramate Ranges in 1997 by jazz-mad Phil Sexton; Giant Steps is named after a John Coltrane album. Melanie Chester became head winemaker in 2021 – this vintage is her second fully in charge. Bright and lifted citrus aromatics include notes of yuzu and tropical fruits. An intense and concentrated palate, with considerable drive and length; rounder notes supplied by time on lees. Polished and set to evolve beautifully thanks to its taut line of acidity.
Drink 2025-2032 Alc 13%
Paringa Estate, Estate Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 2023
Former geography teacher Lindsay McCall bought an orchard in Mornington Peninsula in 1984, replating it as a vineyard the following year. With early vintages scheduled around his teaching career, he quit his day job to focus on winemaking in 1996. One of three Paringa Chardonnays, this is sourced from the Estate and Callanan’s Road vineyards. Fermented and matured in French oak puncheons, with regular lees stirring, to give a rich and textured style. Aromas of green apple, honey, nuts and lemon. Vivacious palate, with nice purity of fruit – grapefruit, lemon, lime, lemon pith, lemon grass – with racy acidity and a lipsmacking saltiness. Well made, with super freshness.
Drink 2025-2031 Alc 13%
Patrick Sullivan, Baw Baw Chardonnay, Gippsland, Victoria 2023
Winemaker Patrick Sullivan only makes Chardonnay and makes all of his Chardonnays the same way. With no difference in production methods, it’s the distinct terroirs that you can taste in his wines. Sullivan is a fan of the volcanic soils of Mount Baw Baw. ‘They give the texture which everyone who produces Chardonnay looks for,’ he explains. There’s so much to enjoy with this wine, from its enticing aromas of toasted hazelnut, creamy macadamia, candied peel and spicy hints of ginger and liquorice; to the long, powerful palate propelled by juicy acidity and a defined seam of minerality. Altogether a rather thrilling Chardonnay.
Drink 2025-2032 Alc 13%
Polperro, Talland Hill Single Vineyard Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 2023
Certified organic and biodynamic, the north-facing Talland Hill vineyard is a warm and sheltered site in Red Hill that produces intense and mineral Chardonnays. This is fermented with wild yeast and matured in barrel for 12 months before bottling with no fining and minimal filtration. Savoury-led aromas of cheese cloth, citrus preserves, and baked nectarine with gentle pastry dough beneath. The palate is deep set and round, though still tensile, with preserved lemon, ripe grapefruit, unripe apple and oyster shell minerality framed within lemon peel-laced acidity.
Drink 2026-2034 Alc 13.5%
Savaterre, Chardonnay, Beechworth, Victoria 2022
Owner and winemaker Keppell Smith discovered this estate in the rolling foothills of the Victorian Alps, just outside the town of Beechworth, in 1996. He describes 2022 as, ‘the best vintage of my life!’ The elevated site and granitic soils give mineral freshness and intense concentration on the palate, backed by a restrained power that is sure to propel this wine through at least another decade. The initially reductive gunflint nose opens up to reveal notes of stone fruit, pink grapefruit, Meyer lemon and nougat. The creamy palate is supported by nicely judged oak, with citrus and stone fruits, plus quince, lemon marmalade and spicy hints. Bright and lively: give this time – in the glass or bottle – and you will be rewarded.
Drink 2025-2040 Alc 12.4%
Yarra Yering, Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria 2021
From one of the oldest wineries in Yarra Valley, established in 1969 by Dr Bailey Carrodus; this Chardonnay is made from the original vineyard blocks he planted then. Fermented with wild yeast in a combination of French oak barrels and puncheons (25% new), then aged for 10 months. Really vibrant aromas of toasted citrus, candied peel and freshly sliced lemon with a sprinkle of salt. Rich and complex palate with layers of fresh lemon, lime zest and grapefruit balancing the velvety texture. Rounded notes of creamy nuts, nougat and buttered popcorn on the finish, with green apple. Terrific length and presence, with a focused line of acidity throughout.
Drink 2025-2030 Alc 13%
Read more about 
