We're into that beautiful time of the year where, with the sun beating down, a good glass of Chardonnay seems to be all we can think about. Ideal timing then that recent weeks have swept through a very healthy dose of Chardonnay releases, including some of the finest vintages we've seen to date from several annual favourites, alongside some lesser-known and limited labels that come off the back of high critical praise and are filled to the brim with personality.
Take a browse below of these choices that have stood out and made their mark among our team - the brilliant minds at Martinborough's Ata Rangi can stand proud for their latest takes of 'Potiki' and 'Masters' Chardonnay, the former a silky creamy darling and the latter a powerful statement of fleshy stonefruit, saline minerality and brooding spice. Halliday's Winemaker of the Year winner Steve Flamsteed is represented with the incredibly seductive Salo Chardonnay, plenty of years of evolution ahead of it in bottle, and another Yarra Valley star shines with Southern Light's 'Seven Slopes of Rising' Chardonnay, where soft buttery texture meets pithy chalky bite come the finish.
The three most limited releases of the offer come in the form of two contemporary Beechworth luminaries in Foreign Friends and Sentio, with individual bottlings from the region's Black Springs vineyard, plus Sentio'sLusatia Park (both wines so generous and layered in their own way, as we know Beechworth can imbue), alongside Bodega Chacra from Patagonia, Argentina making a splash once more! The 'Mainque' is perfumed and light on its feet right now with white florals and crunchy citrus, while their flagship 'Chacra', born from 40 year old vines, is a complex panorama of one of the world's most stark, rugged and stunning wine regions. These both have decades of aging potential.
We were so blown away just last week by the savoury power and leesy nuance of McHenry Hohnen's Hazel's Vineyard (Margaret River) that we knew we needed to make room for it - comfortably the best we've ever seen from this historical wine family, and about as good an example of Margaret River's potential as one will ever find at its price point. Tasmania gets a look in with Bream Creek's blink-and-it's-gone Reserve Chardonnay, and a recent highlight in Dr Edge's Barrique-influenced Chardonnay, both sitting in a fuller-bodied space compared to many of the region's more crispy mineral choices. Finally, who are we as a Brisbane-based store if we didn't include some love for the Granite Belt; Ballandean's Small Batch Chardonnay is a rich meeting of toasty honeyed intensity and an ample sense of freshness.
All selections on special for the next week only - we hope you have as much fun with these as we did putting them together!
'Potiki' Chardonnay 2023 -
$49 on special this week ($55 RRP)
"A complex pure bouquet defining minerality and site first then scents of white peach and overripe grapefruit peel, there’s a line pomaceous fruits then barrel spice and fine chalky lees ideas. At ambient to slightly cool temperature this wine performs best with a fine silk-cream touch, acid line and core fruit flavours all in harmony. Fine fruit and wood tannins frame the ideas of minerality as well as adding mouthfeel and length through the palate. Well made, delicious and ready to drink from day of purchase through 2030." - 95 Points, Cam Douglas MS
'Masters' Chardonnay 2024 -
$115 on special this week ($129 RRP)
"A simply brilliant wine. Tasted over 4 days, a complex and enticing wine with layers of ripe fruits, a judicious and balanced measure of oak, layers of spice and complexity that are giving yet not dominant nor intense. Rather, an intriguing wine with a mineral and saline quality, flavours of grapefruit and apple, white fleshed stone fruits and complexities from lees and wood spice, earth-smoke of stone and clay. Excellent drinking from day of purchase through 2032+." - 97 Points, Cam Douglas MS
Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2025 -
$52 on special this week ($59 RRP)
// Winemaker Steve Flamsteed just won 'Winemaker of the Year' in the Halliday Wine Companion Awards for 2027!
"From the Full Moon vineyard in Gladysdale, which, sadly (and in a sign of the times), has been pulled out by the owner. Salo has another vineyard lined up for '26. In the meantime, this is an excellent way to go out. Brightly coloured with aromas of nectarine kernel, citrus peel, flint and light marine scents. There's a gentle creaminess on the well-weighted palate that finishes chalky, tensile and long. A lovely wine to drink now and over the next four to six years at least." - 96+ Points, Phillip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"Salo Chardonnay is a side project of noted winemakers Steve Flamsteed and Dave Mackintosh. It’s been going for 17 years, with most of the wines produced from the Full Moon Vineyard at Gladysdale in the Upper Yarra Valley. I’m not sure where this 2025 release was grown but it’s the same elite quality. “Side project” sounds both cool and dismissive; this is not a wine to be dismissed. I fell for this wine from the first sip. It’s so right that I’m almost lost for words, or for the appropriate ones. It’s mellifluous, first and foremost, in the most beautiful of ways. It tastes of white peach, cream, preserved lemons, honeysuckle and lactose, though everything comes at you as one harmonious stream. I will no doubt rate wines higher, but I can’t imagine a wine that I would more like to drink. This wine is pure, liquid gorgeousness." - 96 Points, Campbell Mattinson
'Black Springs' Beechworth Chardonnay 2025 -
Available for $79
(Very limited availability)
"There’s no denying the richness and concentration in this wine. And the length. In fact, this wine has a long finish as a starting point. It’s a loop, really. First sip, long finish, next sip. And on we go. Apples, peaches, cashews and toasted oats. This is a pretty solid base and the definition of this wine. Plenty of fruit, but with no tropical sunshine here, sweetness of ripeness—yes, but very much a savoury drive and a dry tail end. Then comes the sprinkle, the topping, the cherry on top—apple tart, custard powder, milk bottle lolly, cinnamon. Yes, all things we love and drool over. There’s a refreshing hint of mint and crushed fennel lingering too. It all comes together in grace and power. Great stuff." - 96 Points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
"Hand picked, basket pressed, barrel fermented, aged on fine lees for 18 months (25% new oak). A vibrant, striking wine that reaffirms the young producer's rising-star status. Combines the luscious with the lightly savoury in aromas and flavours rich in summer stone fruits, honeyed almonds, preserved lemon and honeysuckle florals. Lemon curd and woody, spiced oak notes filter through the palate alongside brisk acidity, finishing tight and clean. This has a youthful complexity that should reward further ageing." - 95 Points, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion
'Lusatia Park' Chardonnay 2025 -
Available for $65
(Very limited availability)
"Handpicked in Woori Yallock. Lusatia Park was planted in 1985 on red volcanic soils. Basket pressed and fermented on fluffy lees in a combination of used French-oak (barrique, demi-muids) then combined and aged for a further 4-months in an 8-year old 1,200-litre foudre." - Winemaker Notes
"Whole-bunch basket pressed, fermented in small and large Slavonian oak and clay eggs. Natural-born Yarra Valley juicy-fresh, luscious fruits in focus here, still tightly coiled in youth and evolving. Flinty grapefruit, citrus, white peach, nectarine, hazelnut oak, spice and zesty citrus peel. Taut and well composed, with a powerful depth of fruit that comes at you crisp and super charged in bright acidity." - 95 Points, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion (for the 2024 vintage)
'Black Springs' Chardonnay 2025 -
Available for $85
(Very limited availability)
"The vineyard was first planted in 2016 to chardonnay and nebbiolo, with a single row of barbera for good measure. Straddling the seam that separates the predominant decomposed granitic soils from the Devonian period with much younger colluvial soils composed of clay, silt, and sand. We (Sentio & Foreign Friends) have been managing this site since 2023 (post-vintage) with a tiny volume of 2024 wines. 2025 saw a much kinder growing season with a healthy, more abundant crop. Handpicked, whole-bunch basket-pressed, racked off full solids after settling (retaining fluffy lees) then fermented in a combination of used barriques and a new ovoid 400L cask. Blended after 11-months and left to rest in stainless-steel before bottling in May." - Winemaker Notes
"The delight of a top Beechworth chardonnay lies in the refinement, the delicacy of delivery and, yet, it can come with an inner strength. That sense of depth and complexity is to be enjoyed here. Don't over chill; open and let it breathe a little and a rich world of citrus opens – of lime, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin peel – with quince, flinty notes and gentle woody spice aromas. Runs deep in flavour concentration, with leesy, creamy notes and mineral tang. A smooth ride through to the finish. Interwoven perfectly and in balance." - 96 Points, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion
'Mainque' Chardonnay 2025 -
$110 on special this week ($129 RRP)
(Very limited availability)
"Highly perfumed, almond meal, honey florals, white peach, a little biscuit spice and matchstick, subtle but pleasant green tones. Light in body, cool acidity, pink grapefruit and white nectarine, some saline savoury things, quite flinty, honey almond perfume and cucumber on a long finish. A striking wine combining delicacy with flavour, and more importantly you can drink the hell out of it." - 95 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
"The saltiness in this chardonnay is so impressive, with aromas of sliced apples, honey, crushed stones and honeysuckle. Medium-bodied, crunchy, vivid and flavorful, with hints of peaches and grape skin. Drink now or hold." - 96 Points, James Suckling
Chacra Chardonnay 2025 -
$205 on special this week ($240 RRP)
(Very limited availability)
"From 40 year old vines with alluvial stones covered in calcaire. The wine is intense and energetic, high pitched and lively, round and austere, refined and mineral. It has a dry mouthfeel and a saltiness natural to the area. 20% in concrete eggs, 15% in stainless steel & the remainder is new and used french oak for 10 month." - Winemaker Notes
"Wow. This is really complex, with sliced apples, lemons, flint, stones and a hint of limes on the nose. It’s floral and aromatic with white flowers. Long, long finish. Complex and thoughtful. Drink or hold." - 99 Points, James Suckling
Reserve Chardonnay 2025 -
$58 on special this week ($65 RRP)
(Very limited availability)
"Light yelow hue; chalky mineral and dusty aromas, a whiff of smoked charcuterie, the palate intense and fine-boned, focused and refreshing with energising acidity. Subtle grapefruit, lemon and flinty aromas, all nicely melded and compact. Terrific line and length: a top chardonnay." - 95 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Barrique Chardonnay 2025 -
$46 on special this week ($52 RRP)
"There’s a lot of savouriness in play here. In fact there’s a lot of Unami. There are earth, hay, cedar, smoke, pine needle and sweet spice notes, all of which integrate perfectly with white peach, grapefruit, custard apple and nashi-pear-like fruit. There’s a clear sense of control here but there’s also an expansiveness. There’s so much interest, so much power and so much length, with perfectly judged texture and all-round balance. In fact I’d have this wine in the conversation as one of the best chardonnays of the year. I particularly like how everything keeps on going through the length of the wine; nothing dangles, nothing gives up, all the elements shoulder on together." - 96 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
"Light straw with attractive aromas of white peach, apple, lemon and grapefruit. Hints of soft spice, clover blossom, nougat, light biscuity oak, sea spray and stone. Lemon flows in with more volume on the palate, as does a clotted-cream tone, all driven forward by a fine, briny acid cadence, finishing long and citrusy." - 94 Points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
Hazel's Vineyard Chardonnay 2024 -
$89 on special this week ($99 RRP)
"An exquisite, chiselled wine offering all the best of what Margaret River can do with this variety and, of course, this producer. Savoury, moreish sulphides, spicy ginger flower and lemon blossom, tangy juicy with subtle oak spices and refined leesy nuances. it’s a classy wine that has an innate power yet feels effortless."- 97 Points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
"Crushed rocks, white button mushroom, green tea and white nectarine aromas take you on a gourmand ride from the get-go. The palate reverberates with energy and a crescendo of flavour takes hold. Pithy saline phenolics on the finish add chew and interest. This is a finely styled chardonnay, up there with the best Australia has to offer." - 96 Points, Gabrielle Poy, The Real Review
Seven Slopes of Rising Chardonnay 2024 -
$75 on special this week ($85 RRP)
"Whole-bunch pressed to a combination of 300L and 500L French oak (35% new). A light, bright green gold. Aromas of white peach, grapefruit and subtle oak spice. The palate is gently textured with a fine line of acidity that provides freshness and drive. Finishes chalky and long. Drinking beautifully now and should develop well over the next four to six years." - 95 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"Nillumbik. Two blocks. 110V5 clone planted 1984. Bernard 95 clone planted 2002. 35% new oak. White peach, lemon oil, aniseed/mint, cashew, a whisper of struck match, crystallised ginger and cedar oak. It’s juicy in citrus flavour and tang, quite flinty and tight, nutty and saline, with a green mango finish of excellent length and dry grip. It’s perhaps a little biscuitty in oak at present, but has energy and verve to counter. Very good." - 94 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
Small Batch Chardonnay 2023 -
$43 on special this week ($49 RRP)
"Parcels are selected for this reserve wine offering. It is matured in 100% new French oak barrels for 13 months. It's a brilliant mix of fresh, crisp stone fruit and more honey, toasty, slippery richness. The mesh of bright, high-elevation fruit with ably-judged oak maturation and less work delivers a complex wine of intensity and yet vivid freshness. Alongside the more opulent fruit characters, a slip of nougat and almond savouriness and a sizzle of brine-like minerality brings energy to the wine. Complex, intense and very good; drink in vivid youth, but hold some in cellar for honey-buttery softness to follow through." - 95 Points, Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion
If you wish to purchase any of these wines, please use the links above
Otherwise, if you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Special prices valid until Wednesday 16th of September