Collection: Chardonnay
92 POINTS: Cam Douglas MS
"Familiar scents and flavours of peaches and cream with a clay and lees touches, some vanilla and wood smoke from a lick of oak. On the palate the wine touches with a satin-cream mouthfeel then acidity and some fine tannins add breadth, texture and length. Fruit flavours are persistent with a citrus peel touch, balanced and well made, ready to drink from day of purchase through 2026."
- Cam Douglas MS
Cuvar's Iris Chardonnay comes from the gracious slopes of their Cuvar Terraces Vineyard in Bayview. First planted by George Fistonich in 1986 (he was yet to become Sir), this vineyard has one of the best views in the bay - looking out to the Pacific Ocean. This environment shapes the sunshine of this wine.
The forthright bouquet introduces bursts of candied tropical fruits intertwined with notes reminiscent of warm fruit crumble. Gentle oak wraps around the palate of balanced acid and ripe fruit. Nothing is too dominant — the fruit, oak, acid and flavours all sing in harmony.
ABV: 12.7%
"Lifted blossom florals and white stone fruit. Lovely minerality. The palate has lovely generosity on the front palate, well integrated oak that leads into an elegant soft and focused palate. There is a complex textured component which plays beautifully with the acid to create a delightful and charming chardonnay."
- Winemaker's Notes
ABV: 13%
WAS $36.99, NOW $29.99
95 POINTS & 5 STARS: Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
"This Chardonnay has a beautiful, golden hue with aromas of apples that mingle with toasted oak and hints of peach cobbler, coconut and pineapple. The delicate flavours of crème brûlée and vanilla bean give way to lovely notes of key lime, white peach and butterscotch in a medium-bodied mouthfeel."
- James Ewart, Winemaker
"Gorgeously ripe and opulent, the wine shows grilled peach, mango, vanillin oak, butterscotch and popcorn aromas on the nose, leading to a sumptuous palate offering fabulous fruit power together with seductive oak infusion, finishing long and lavish."
- Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
The 2023 Chardonnay was crafted from organic, hand harvested fruit from the Oak Estate vineyard located just over the fence from Herringbone.
Pineapple and citrus aromas with hints of toasty oak, the wine is creamy on the palate with a beautiful richness of fruit flavours and oak influence.
It was whole bunch pressed and fermented in oak to create a rich and supple chardonnay. Aged in French oak for 10 months prior to bottling the finished wine exhibits a fine balance between fruit flavours and subtle oak toastiness which is velvety and smooth on the palate.
ABV: 13%
92 POINTS: Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review
"Cloudy amber-orange. An enveloping nose of honey with ripe apple, blood orange and pithy pink grapefruit. A hint of thyme and something savoury underneath. Yet to unfurl fully despite being perfumed. Funky and savoury reduction appears on the palate alongside the intense flavours of dried cranberry, raisin, fig and pear. Chewy tannins lend structure to the large-scaled, weighty palate which is more reliant on phenolics than acidity. Impressive concentration and a long, spicy, earthy finish. Despite the soft acidity, this will likely keep and develop for a few years without issue."
- Stephen Wong MW
Seresin winemaker Tamra Washington gets to really experiment with the Beautiful Chaos range. A blend of Pinot Gris and Riesling, all from the biodynamic Seresin vineyard, it was fermented on skins like an ‘orange’ or amber wine for 21-26 days; one portion in amphora and another in stainless steel, before being basket-pressed into old oak barrels to age for three months, during which the softening malolactic fermentation occurred naturally.
ABV: 12.5%
93 POINTS NY International Wine Competition 2023
91 POINTS; BEST BUY: Wine Enthusiast
"This wine is fresh, lifted with aromas of papaya, mango, pear, pink grapefruit and vanilla. The palate has green apple, candied lime, green papaya, white grapefruit and ginger intertwined with orange blossom honey, cracked black pepper and a dry finish."
- Wine Enthusiast
Light oak aging and fresh, balanced acidity make this Chardonnay a must-have. The bouquet is soft with ripe honeydew, rich vanilla, and hints of apple skin. The oak aging adds a nice complexity to the mouthfeel, layering zesty spice tones on top of crisp pear and guava flavour. On the back end, flavors of lemon peel meld with the creamy vanilla notes to create a refreshing and savoury finish.
ABV: 14.5%
GOLD MEDAL: Mundus Vini Summer Tasting 2023
95 POINTS & 5 STARS: Sam Kim; The Wine Orbit
BEST BUY – Wine Enthusiast
"Opulent and stylish at the same time, the wine shows grilled peach, mango, French vanilla and sweet pastry aromas on the nose, followed by a wonderfully weighted palate offering plush texture backed by juicy acidity, making it highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2028."
- Sam Kim; The Wine Orbit
The Diamond Collection Appellation Series Chardonnay bestows a rich, creamy texture, lush fruit impressions, and an impeccable balance. Enticing aromas of apple, fig, crème brûlée, and honeysuckle on the nose with additional notes of baked bread and a nuttiness on the palate. A silky mid-palate leads to a lingering, elegant finish with a nice and consistent round structure.
Diamond collection Chardonnay hails from Monterey County, a cool climate appellation known for producing well-balanced wines with lush flavours lifted by bright, natural acidity.
ABV 13.5%
95 POINTS: Sam Kim; The Wine Orbit
94 POINTS: Bob Campbell MW
92 POINTS: Cameron Douglas MW
Top Rank: #1 French Chardonnay 'Real Review' Jan 24
"Rich, fleshy chardonnay with ripe peach/tree fruits, vanilla, cashew nut, peppery spice and subtle oak flavours. Appealing wine in a crowd-pleasing style. It has attractive texture and an impressively lingering finish."
Montsablé Réserve represents the pinnacle of site selection within the Haute Vallée de l’Aude, the coolest of all the Mediterranean regions of France due to altitude and influence of the cool Atlantic wind, the Vent Cers. Altitude, climate and limestone rich soils combine to produce outstanding fruit, with which we create wines of elegance and freshness.
The specific Haute Vallée sites are perfect for Chardonnay due to slower ripening and better levels of acidity. The vines are 20-30 years old and grow on Argilo Calcaires soils. The wine is left on its lees to add complexity of flavour, texture and weight whilst retaining refreshing ripe fruit character. Critically, 30% of the wine is aged in French wood for 6 months adding further creamy complexity.
The floral aromas and white peach flavours are complemented by vanilla, toasty notes, a lovely creamy texture and mineral tones through to a classy finish.
Abv 13%
94 POINTS: Cameron Douglas MS
"Aromas of roasted stone fruits and lemon peel, a touch of gunflint then barrel spices, a nut burnt butter quality highlights both wood influence, lees and ripeness of fruit. Lovely weight and satin-cream cream texture combine to deliver a plush raw-silk mouthfeel. Flavours of nut, spice, citrus and stone fruits reflect the bouquet. Dry, persistent, taut and youthful, a wine that will continue to age and develop if stored well."
- Cameron Douglas MS
The nose is a harmony of white nectarine and the oak-influenced aromas of miso caramel and charred pineapple. The palate is ripe and rich with a brilliantly resolved acidity that sparkles like the crunch of a flaky salt crystal. Fruit is ever-present with layers of nectarine, pineapple, stewed Granny Smith apples, and the smoky oak wafting through.
On the nose Huia Chardonnay shows ripe peach and pear that combines with lifted vanilla pod. The palate has mixed rich stone and citrus fruit with a silky creamy texture.
ABV: 13.5%
93 POINTS: Wine Direct Tasting Team
- Wine Direct Tasting Team
Valle Isarco lies at a point in northernmost Italy where glaciers meet the gentle rolling hills of the Mediterranean. It’s a region, within Italy’s Alto-Adige, characterised by a wine tradition that span back to 500BC. But while its wine tradition may be historic, it also defined by the personality of its contemporary growers who, thanks to a wide variety in soils, in cultivation areas and sunlight exposures – as well as in the microclimates of specific vineyards, allow each vineyard to develop and thrive within its own character. Steep terraced vineyards call for year-round dedication and can, in many cases, require solely hand tending, so it’s no wonder the spirit of each family of winemakers is so at one with its vineyard.
93 POINTS: Sam Kim; The Wine Orbit (Previous vintage)
92 POINTS: Bob Campbell MW (Previous vintage)
92 POINTS: Cameron Douglas MS (Previous vintage)
"A satin mouthfeel as the wine touches the palate, flavours of whited fleshed stone fruits with a fine line of grapefruit and mineral. Nice weight and intensity with a smooth attack and finish, gently warming alcohol and moderate acid line. Well made with persistent flavours of citrus and apple, some stone fruits and spice. Low oak. Best from 2023 through 2027"
- Cameron Douglas MS (Previous vintage)
The Montsable Chardonnay has a bright yellow gold hue and seductive scents of blossom and cinnamon spice. A remarkable melange of pears, peach, honey toffee, cream and vanilla (from a short spell of oak ageing) on the palate. Furthermore it is beautifully balanced with ripeness, acidity, length and real structure. Overall, a very classy Chardonnay.
This incredibly popular Chardonnay from Limoux, Langedoc takes its inspiration from traditional Burgundy styles; 20% of the wine is kept in oak staves to introduce a suggestion of vanilla, whilst the remaining 80% is kept in stainless steel to preserve adequate freshness. The grapes themselves are sourced from the cooler, higher-altitude valleys of Limoux, allowing for a slower ripening period and good levels of acidity.
Suitable for Vegans.
ABV: 12.5%