This is the only list of the best Chardonnays in Australia that

• Is totally independent, free of bull and free of ads
• Finds the best Chardonnays from $10 to $50 (street price)
• You can buy right now, at the sharpest prices online
• Is updated every 6 – 9 months
• Is as free as the air you breathe

This is Part 6 of a series we started 5 years ago, and update every 6 – 12 months. For a broader background, you can read Part 5 HERE, Part 4 HERE, Part 3 HERE and Part 2 HERE.

You might like to check Part 1 HERE to get the background to this project. The trend away from the rich, buttery, oaky chardies toward grapefruit and gunflint concoctions has hardly changed in 5 years; perhaps the extremes of this trend are less harsh.

We have seen a change in the prices of the top wines, most of all those from Margaret River, the Yarra Valley and New Zealand. That’s made our job harder at the $30 – $50 end of the scale. The good news is that the under $30 section has more good value twines to offer as you’ll see.

CHARDONNAY – THE SHORT STORY

We’ve always liked the rich old style chardies, the ones the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) movement turned its back on, with all the young Turk winemakers producing Twiggy style chardies that struggles to reach 13% alcohol. They also tend to avoid the malolactic fermentation, which gives chardies their creamy texture, because they prefer crunchy acid styles drizzled with grapefruit and jazzed up with struck match funk. What’s wrong with having a choice of both styles, and one in between?

Why is there a debate at all, when there’s a market for different styles. Wine snobs telling us what we should like? Sure, some of the cheap chardies from the turn of the millennium were caricatures of the real thing, but the swing to lean and mean went over the top and punters got really confused. That’s how Sauvignon Blanc become a popular refuge for many.

Why do winemakers behave like lemmings? I’ve had Tyrrell’s chardies that were trying really hard to look like cool climate wines. Even the old Scarborough label went that way in recent years … why don’t our winemakers use the natural assets of our vast wine areas, and get their heads around the big market for old style chardies? You wouldn’t believe how many requests I get from my subscribers for good wines of this style. So we’ve included a few more in this current list, warts and all.

This time we’ve included a few chardies from across the Tasman that stood out in a recent survey of New Zealand wines, and fit neatly into our sweet spot  between $13 and $20. The cooler climate of the shaky isles provides these wines with fine natural acidity, and lets winemakers use the secondary malolactic fermentation without having to worry about their wines going blousy or flabby. That fear is the reason most Aussie winemakers avoid the malo – it keeps their wines fresh but deprives them of mid-palate richness and texture. They leave the wines on lees for months and stir them to make up for that.

Anyhow, let’s check the wines.

UNDER $20

Fat Bastard Chardonnay 2022 – $13 at Our Cellar. It’s better than the 2021, which isn’t saying a lot. It’s still over-oaked, overworked and lacking finesse. We’re listing it here because the punters can’t get enough of it; it’s been the best-selling chardy at Nicks for the last 8 years, they tell us. Other merchants say people buy cases of this stuff. Not surprising since the price is sharp, but everything else is pretty blunt. We have thick slabs of caramel / vanilla oak, fruit that is ripe and pineapple sweet and lacks varietal definition. The taste is confected, makes me think of lollies. 89 points. The next wine is a much better option for the same money.

Selaks Origins Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2023 – $13 at Our Cellar. This is a crowd pleaser from a venerable Kiwi firm, offering peaches and cream, roasted nuts and vanilla oak in a well-integrated package. The texture is silky and the fine line of acid gives the wine a lift and keeps it tidy. A more subtle option than the FB. 92 points. 

Mystery MR222 Reserve Margaret River Chardonnay 2022 – $13 at Winestar in an unbroken dozen. This is Miles from Nowhere Best Blocks Chardonnay, with 5 gold medals to its credit. Ships under its normal label, with free freight to most of Australia. The oak dominates but there’s just enough fruit to stand up to it. It’s a big, rich and round wine that’s been our go-to chardy for a few months now. Top value drinking now but it’ll improve for a couple more years. 93 points.

Cherubino Folklore Chardonnay 2024 – $15 at Different Drop. Larry Cherubino is a smart winemaker (he makes the Robert Oatley wines), so he made a Fat Bastard of his own. It’s not so fat and les oaky. The fruit comes from the Great Southern and Margaret River, the wine is matured in 1- and 2-year-old French oak, and the result is a fruit-forward wine with just a hint of oak  and plenty of charm. 90 points.

Babich Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2024 – $15 at Our Cellar. An attractive chardy offering rich, ripe peaches and nectarines, mild cashews and hints of vanilla, with chalky minerals in the background. The slinky, creamy texture adds to the wine’s appeal.  It’s not the most complex chardy and the finish is a tad short, but it’s good drinking now and will fill out over the next year or two. 92/93 points.

Deep Woods Estate Chardonnay 2024 – $17 at 1st Choice in a twin pack. These guys offer lots of deals that bring the price down to $15. Stone fruits and grilled nuts, a gentle rendition of Margaret River chardy from a winery that‘s built quite a reputation for its wines. It’s tidy and polished. Nothing’s overdone so it sneaks up on you, softly, softly – you look at the empty glass and wonder where it went. Good value. 93 points.

Mondavi Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay 2022 – $16 at Cheapest Liquor (member price), $18 elsewhere. Rich and buttery with toasty vanilla oak. Full-bodied, offering peaches, pears and pineapples. Baked custard, grilled nuts, creamy texture. A lot of clever work on show here for the money; made in vast quantities. 92 points.

Robert Oatley Signature Series Margaret River Chardonnay – $18 at Our Cellar. Made by Larry Cherubino, offering attractive ripe stone fruits and hints of cashews in the elegant style that is Larry’s usual signature. It will please crowds with its seductive sweet fruit. 93 points. 

Wickhams Road Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2024 – $20 at Boccaccio Cellars. The second label of Hoddles Creek Estate, made form bought-in fruit. It’s a bright, energetic rendition of the chardy theme with stone fruits and citrus notes doing the driving, and oak in the back seat. Great line and length. Great style. 93 points.

Hill Smith Estate Chardonnay 2024 – $20 at Wine Experience. I used to like this wine from the Hill Smith family that owns Yalumba, then lost track of it (it’s always been hard to find) and here it is again. The fruit is from Eden Valley, and the wine reflects the cool climate there with fresh and zesty energy. Stone fruits and hints of grapefruit plus some struck match notes, a gently creamy texture with some French oak in the background. 94 points.

Nicks Secret Martinborough Chardonnay 2022 – $20 at Nicks. It’s Palliser Estate Chardonnay from Martinborough at the southern tip of the north island. This chardy is not one for the purists or the faint of heart. Toasted oak and roasted nuts set the lively agenda right now, with peaches, spices and vanilla beans pushing through, and crème brûlée and croissants filling in the background. It’s a rich wine yet it’s not buttery or overripe. The rich texture suggests barrel fermentation and time on lees, along with some malolactic fermentation. Good drinking already but will improve. 95 points. Serious Bargain.

OVER $20

Mountadam Eden Valley Chardonnay 2023 – $21 at Our Cellar. Pretty straight up-and-down Chardonnay offering white stone fruits and cashews, generous of build with good depth of flavour. Good drinking for the next year or 2. This is not the top of the line chardy from Mountadam but good value at this price. 93 points. BUY

Kumeu Village Chardonnay 2024 – $22 at Our Cellar. I’ve long been a fan of this Kiwi chardy from the suburbs of Auckland, bought lots of the 2022 but was less impressed with the 2023 from a tough vintage. The 2024 is back to rich and ripe and round but is a little short on the palate which reduces the score. 93 points.

The Creamery Chardonnay 2023 – $25 at Our Cellar. Made by O’Neill Vintners who make ripe Chardonnays from grapes grown in California – Monterey, Paso Robles and Clarksburg. It’s 100% barrel fermented, sees 100% malolactic fermentation, and spends seven months in American and French oak. It delivers what it says on the label: rich, ripe, buttery and peachy Chardonnay with a creamy texture, backed by toasty oak. The best of the Californians on this list IMHO, and the sharpest price down under. 94 points.

Rosily Margaret River Chardonnay 2024 – $25 at Kemenys. 2024 was an early, hot vintage and the wine reflects that with rich, ripe stone fruits and good concentration. Some of the wine gets some malo, and all of it gets 9 months in small oak barrels. 30% of these are new, yet the integration is subtle and seamless. A lovely rich, round mouthful. 93+ points.

Secret Label Margaret River Chardonnay 2023 – $25 at Kemenys. The  secret is Miles From Nowhere Origin of Now Chardonnay, a $100 super premium wine they launched a few years ago. Gets 96 points and a rave review from Ray Jordan – check the link. Kemenys Secret label wines are delivered with their original labels.

Brokenwood Chardonnay 2024 – $24 at Jim’s Cellars, or $25 at the winery in a 6-pack, freight included. A blend of 70% Chardonnay from Beechworth, 20% from the Yarra Valley and 10% from the Hunter. Stored in French oak, 20% new. Classic white peaches and cashews with hints of nougat, some mealy notes and a squirt of lemon, fresh and elegant yet with good depth of flavour. Silky smooth with good line and length. A classy, pitch-perfect Chardonnay at a sharp price. 95 points. BUY.

Dog Ridge Butterfingers Chardonnay 2022 – $26 at Our Cellar. It’s not as buttery as it suggests, but it’s buttery enough for me. The oak is kept in check as well, letting the gorgeous fruit do most of the talking – ripe peaches and apricots, a touch of vanilla from the oak, good mid-palate weight, medium-bodied (14%), fresh and crisp, supported by a clean line of acid. McLaren Vale in a tux. 94+ points. Good drinking now, but will fill out a little more over a year or two.

Oakridge Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2024 – $26 at WSD. Some struck match funk but not overdone, some citrus notes keeping the peaches in check, and roasted nuts in the background. Good depth of flavour here, and good length leading to a dry finish. 94 points. Stylish chardy for the asking price.

Hoddles Creek Estate Chardonnay 2024 – $26 at MyCellars where the freight is free for subscribers on any quantity. White peaches and nectarines backed by almond oak, clean and fresh, young and intense but restrained as in the winery’s style. Will soften and fill out over a year or three. 94+ points

Ringbolt  Chardonnay 2023 – $26 at Our Cellar. It’s a new addition to the ever-growing Hill Smith Family Estates (HSFE) tribe, and I suspect the lone Ringbolt Cabernet will be glad of the company. This is among the best Chardonnays I’ve tasted in the last 12 months: classic Willyabrup intensity, energy and appeal. Has everything you expect from a good chardy, and it’s a seamless piece of work. Just a gorgeous mouthful that you keep coming back to. 95 points

Montalto Pennon Hill Chardonnay 2023 – $30 at auscellardoor. Haven’t tried this vintage bit Jane Faulkner at the WC has and writes: ‘Always a terrific go-to wine showcasing the peninsula as much as the producer. It’s really juicy and zesty, full of citrus and white stone fruit, with a sprinkling of spice, lime zest and coriander seeds. It’s tangy and lively across the palate, and while there’s a slip of leesy texture, this is mouth-watering and superfine. Very good. 13% alc. Drink: 2024 – 2030’

Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay 2024 – $30 at Different Drop. Barnaby Flanders is a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay tragic, they tell us. He travelled the world and fell in love with the wines of Burgundy. In 2006 he founded Garagiste Wines on the Mornington Peninsula, where he makes small batch premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This is Garagiste’s value leader. The fruit was  whole-bunch pressed directly to 500-litre puncheons and spent 8 months on lees to build complexity. The style is fine-boned and pure, fresh and zesty, fruit-driven with citrus overtones. Oak doesn’t intrude. 94 points.

OVER $30

Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay 2023 – $31 at Barrel & Batch. This was a favourite of ours a few years back when it sold for less than $20. The tightly-wound, energetic and elegant style has not changed a lot since. An seamless blend of citrus and honeysuckle, nectarines and cashews, finished with a touch of ginger. The fine acidity gives the finish a lift. 94 points

Neudorf Tiritiri Chardonnay 2022 – $32 at Wine Experience. From beautiful Nelson on the south island of NZ.  A faint whiff of struck matches leads to an elegant chardy of some complexity. It spent 10 months on lees with monthly battonage (stirring), then went through malolactic fermentation. Peaches, ripe apples, a squirt of grapefruit and some chalky minerals. The creamy texture completes the classy picture. Subtle and elegant. Delicious chardy. 94+ points.

Scotchmans Hill Chardonnay Bellarine Peninsula 2022 – $33 at WSD. Haven’t tried this vintage but these guys have a great track record for chardies. Here’s is JH’s take: ‘Clones P58, I10V1, I10V3, I10V5, 76 and 95; whole-bunch pressed to barrel, wild-yeast fermentation, lees stirred monthly, matured in new and used French barriques for 12 months. A mouth-filling, rich and creamy palate is striking, but does allow grapefruit to make a limited appearance on the complex, satisfying finish. 95 points, Special Value.’

Nautilus Chardonnay 2022 – $34 at Our Cellar. This is one of Hill Smith Family Estates’ many labels. It delivers peaches and nuts with hints of crème brûlée and a squirt of lemon to keep things tidy. The mid palate fruit is rich and seductive, spicy and a touch sweet – in the nicest way – but it finishes dry. Perfect balance. Will please crowds. 94 points. BUY.  

Soumah Single Vineyard Hexham Chardonnay2023 – $34 at Summer Hill Wine. I haven’t tried this vintage. The Real Review writes: Complete and fragrant aromas of grapefruit pith, white flowers, nougat, just-ripe white stone fruit, melon skin and struck match. Fine, focused and with a lovely pure and precise line of fruit, oak and pithy acidity. Textured, layered and with fabulous complexity and drinkability. Serious chardonnay. 95 points.’

Harewood Estate Chardonnay Reserve 2023 – $36 at Wine Square. This is one of the best Chardonnays I’ve seen in the last 12 months. Rich and ripe white stonefruits and cashews, toasty French oak that’s polished and fully integrated. Lees stirring and malolactic fermentation have added baking spices and a creamy texture. 96 points. Brilliant wine.

Collector Tiger Tiger Chardonnay 2022 – $36 in a 6-pack at the Vine Press. Made from Tumbarumba grapes grown at 700 m above sea level by Alex McKay who prides himself on the ‘purity of regional expression and varietal definition’ of his wines. He set up Collector Wines back in 2005 and has built quite a reputation for his Chardonays. Check the story here.+

This is cool climate chardy of great intensity, offering stone fruits and grapefruit, maybe a couple of struck matches too many, but I confess that the flintiness adds complexity. Oak does not intrude. Great example of the style. 95 points.

Freycinet Chardonnay 2022 – $42 at the Wine Collective. We have to have a Tassie chardy in the line-up. I’ve seen stunning Rieslings from this winery but not their Chardonnays. Huon Hooke’s review starts with ‘a bitter orange-peel, lemon pith, cumquat and nougat range of aromas and flavours. It’s quite unusual but attractive, the palate intense and full, rounded and ample, with a distinct trace of bitterness that helps cleanse the follow-through. The tannins will help it stand up to flavoursome food. Long carry. A generous style of chardonnay, and really classy. 13.5%. 96 Points.

Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay 2022 – $42 in a 6-pack at Summer Hill Wine. Cyclone Dovi did a lot of damage to the east coast of New Zealand in 2022, but spared Kumeu River in the outskits of Auckland, which had another good vintage. Bob Campbell at The Real Review talks about green apple and grapefruit notes and ‘taut acidity that gives the wine a nod in the direction of Chablis.’ After reading his review, I was in no hurry to try the wine.

When I tasted it 6 months later, it was a rich, ripe, almost voluptuous Chardonnay, with white peaches doing much of the talking, backed by some complex elements that suggested storage on lees. As always, the oak is a subtle addition and the integration seamless, and the malolactic fermentation adds a touch of cream to the texture. A lovely surprise. 94 points, heading for 95.

Dexter Chardonnay 2023 – $45 at Summer Hill. Todd Dexter makes very precise Chardonnays on the Mornington Peninsula, but I haven’t tried this vintage. The Real Review ‘Light lemon yellow hue. Fragrant grapefruit, oyster shell and green cashew aromas. Bright and lively on entry, fruit is lemon and peach with a lift of acidity that accentuates saline minerality, a touch of struck flint too. Great length and sits with poise and detail. As it lingers a hint of nougat shines through: this will no doubt build over time. 95 points.

Fighting Gully Road Chardonnay 2023 – $50 at Different Drop. The Real Review writes: ‘Light-mid bright yellow; creamy lees and bread crust aromas, the palate intense and focused, bright and piercing, with great panache and long-lasting finish. The flavours are precise and beautifully harmonised. Superb chardonnay, with high ageing potential. 96 points.’

Cherubino Dijon Chardonnay 2022 – $50 at Grevillea. Larry the wizard won the trophy for best white wine producer at the IWSC in London. He makes about half a dozen single vineyard Chardonnays, and this is one of them. I haven’t tried this Margaret River chardy yet but Huon Hooke has: ‘Smoky reduction and traces of butterscotch, hazelnut and nougat: latent complexity here. Refined and subtle, but also really intense and focused, with excellent line and length. A stylish, refined and understated chardonnay that promises to have a bright future. 96 points.

The Gallipoli Art Prize 2012

The weekend after Anzac Day, we came across a tiny notice in the Sydney Morning Herald about the Gallipoli Art Prize and an exhibition of the entrants at the Gallipoli Club in Loftus St near Circular Quay. We went to see the paintings on show there, and they were the kind that didn’t need explanations. These images have staid with me ever since, that’s why I’m posting the shortlist 13 years later. Just click on the heading above.

To see all the entrants (23) in the 2012 competition, go to the Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/nsw/2012-gallipoli-art-prize-20120423-1xgvp.html

You can see the shortlist of entrants in the 2025 competition here, or see them at the

GALLIPOLI MEMORIAL CLUB
12-14 Loftus Street, Circular Quay
Sydney NSW 2000
ph. (02) 9235 1533

Lest We Forget

Kim

A Man of Mystery & Modesty

As you know, I’ve been really impressed by some of the wines Larry Cherubino makes. The most recent wines were reds under the AdHoc, Pedestal and Robert Oatley labels, which we can buy for $20 and less.

So I was keen to ask Larry how he made really attractive wines at such user-friendly prices, and tried to set up an interview with him. His PR manager said she’d make it happen and let me know.

Weeks went by so I sent Lucy a friendly reminder, and she sent back an email  right away, saying ‘how about 10 minutes from now before Larry goes into his next meeting? I said sure. I had planned to do a full interview with him, but figured that 10 minutes was better than nothing.

When we spoke, I compared Larry’s reds with those of the young Wolf Blass, but there was no reaction. Then I realized that Larry was a baby in the early seventies, at the time Wolf made those early reds.

It soon became clear that Larry is not a great talker. And unlike Wolf Blass, he’s no self-promoter. Wolf claims that the style of reds we made when he arrived down under was ‘lunatic’, and that he showed us the way to the promised land. ‘My wines make weak men strong, and strong women weak,’ was his most famous boast.

When I asked Larry where he learned his secrets, he said there were no secrets and added ‘any decent winemaker can do what we do.’ So why don’t they, I wondered. Larry earned his stripes as a consultant winemaker in NZ, South Africa, the US and Italy. In Australia, he worked at Hardies before becoming chief winemaker at Houghton.

He must’ve carved the recipe for his style of wine into the winery floor at Houghtons, because they were still producing gold-medal winning $10 reds 20 years later.

In 2005, Larry went out on his own, buying and planting vineyards in the west, and making wine under his own labels while still consulting to a handful of wineries. Fast forward to 2012, and Larry’s only client was the Oatley family. Huon Hooke tells the story under the heading ‘Bright Star Invigorates.’

Winning Ways

Another thing Larry has in common with Wolfie is his eye for great but undervalued wine areas. Blass raised Langhorne Creek’s profile, as did Larry with Frankland River. The 80 hectare Justin vineyard, one of the oldest in the Great Southern, had been leased by Houghton for decades, and was the main source for the great Houghton reds Larry made.

Houghton was part of the Accolade wine group, which ran into strong headwinds in recent years, and the Oatleys bought part of the Justin vineyard with Larry’s help. In addition to the Signature wines, Larry makes Oatley’s Finistere and Pennant ranges, plus the odd limited release.

Larry has been picking up truckloads of bling at home and abroad. Late in 2023, he won the  2023 White Wine Producer Trophy at the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s annual competition in London. He has a way to go to equal the bling in Wolfie’s trophy cabinet but I have no doubt that he’ll get there.

Popular British wine scribe Matthew Jukes is a great fan of Larry’s, writing: ‘I take my hat off to the dedication, perseverance, palate acumen and will to win that all combine to create the enigma that is Mr. Cherubino.’ Juke describes Larry as ‘a shy chap who hides behind a Hollywood grin and a ludicrous mop of jet-black hair.’ So it wasn’t just me.

Jukes was so impressed with Larry’s wines that he named Cherubino his Winery of The Year 2023/24. ‘I have known Larry for a quarter of a century,’ Jukes says, ‘and very few people in our industry have a work ethic like his. His hunger for knowledge and understanding of the world’s great wines fires his imagination and palate to reach new heights with his own wines every year.’

The launch of Jukes’ Top 100 this year was held at Australia House and attended by Australian High Commissioner Stephen Smith. Over 300 UK-based Australian wine industry experts  were invited to attend the 20^th anniversary celebrations..

More Than Great Wine

Larry Cherubino puts out a staggering 72 wines, almost all of them made from fruit off his own vineyards. The winery and cellar door in Margaret River were established just a few years ago. ‘These days,’ Larry told me, ‘you need to do more than make wine. You have to provide an experience for your visitors.’ So the winery features an art gallery and a fancy restaurant, and provides a great venue for weddings.

In the vineyards, it’s about clonal selection and sustainable agriculture. ‘We don’t use herbicides. We employ fish and seaweed applications. We make our own compost to support the whole vineyard biology. It’s not just about better water retention, but about healthy soils with good microbial activity. It’s a whole ecosystem thinking to make healthier, disease-resistant vines.’

The Wines

The Robert Oatley Signature range offers tremendous value for money. I’ve raved about the sweet seduction of the GSM 2020 and the 2021 Shiraz, both from McLaren Vale, in my recent mailers. I’ve also been impressed with some of Larry’s other labels – the Pedestal Shiraz and the Ad Hoc Avant Gardening Cabernet Malbec stand out.

I really like the light touch Larry uses with his reds; even those from McLaren Vale show real finesse. The whites are even more delicate, which suits the Riesling but less so the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and the SSB. I like my whites a little richer. Still, there isn’t an ordinary wine among them.

Our Cellar in Sydney offers the sharpest prices on the signature range, stocks all of the wines and ships right across Australia at competitive rates.

My best friend Reg called me last week, and asked me if I’d seen that an Australian wine had been voted the best wine at the biggest wine competition in the world. The competition was the Decanter World Wine Awards 2024, a gargantuan event where over 18,000 wines from 57 countries were judged by 243 expert judges, including 61 Masters of Wine and 20 Master Sommeliers.

The winning wine was Shingleback’s Red Knot Classified GSM 2022, a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre. And the best part was that it sold for less than $20 a bottle, which is of course music to my ears.

Best in Show?

What got Reg so excited was this headline at 7News: Dan Murphy’s $20 Shingleback wine named ‘Best in Show’ at world’s biggest competition. The South Australian drop beat 18,000 entries from 57 countries.

Now my mate Reg loves a good story as most of us do, but the headline was misleading. The wine finished up among the 50 Best Wines in the World., but no wine was singled out as the best of this short list.

And it turned out that the good news was announced about a week before we talked about this, by which time there was none of the wine left anywhere down under. Reg had combed the internet from end to end, along with several wine-loving friends, and the wine had sold out everywhere.

Dig a Little Deeper

I said I’d do some more digging, given that I call myself a wine sleuth, and I found lots of places that stocked Red Knot GSM. The winery is owned by Endeavour, which also owns Dan Murphy’s, BWS and hundreds of those pokie pubs Woolworths got rid of when it was accused of supporting gambling addiction.

As a result, Endeavour is a massive outfit employing almost 30,000 people who’re committed to a common goal:  ‘Creating a more sociable future together gives us direction and inspires us to create great work together.’

What this wonderful culture of togetherness doesn’t include is the vintage of the wines on sale at Dan Murply’s, or phone numbers for any stores you can call and check. BWS stores, are part of the same group, and do provide phone numbers if you dig deep enough. I called a bunch of them, and they were all on the 2023. I bought a sample, which really wasn’t that exciting. Vin ordinaire.

When Numbers Get Serious

The judges handed out 117 platinum medals, along with 643 gold, 5,977 silver and 8,016 bronze . that’s almost 15,000 of 18,000 entries. Did anyone not get a medal? No need to worry, there were more awards. The name of this game is selling thousands of rolls of stickers that wineries can stick on their wine labels, and this paper bling fills Decanter’s coffers with lots of real dollars.

Try as I might, I couldn’t find the number of ‘Commended’ or ‘Value’ awards handed out, but theses pyramids tend to get broader at the bottom so I wouldn’t be surprised if these two made up at least another 10,000.  Did anyone not get a medal? I doubt it.

April 2024 Update

When I wrote this post a few years ago, we could still find most of the recent vintages with a bit of hunting around. Last year it became really hard to find any vintage before 2015, mainly because the winery hasn’t released any museum wines for some time. The only consolation was that the new vintages of the black label Cabernet were as good as ever.

Another thorough check has unearthed sources for the 2010, 2012 and 2013 vintages, and we’ve provided reviews of the most recent vintages to complete the update at both ends. So this is as complete and as current a picture you’ll find anywhere on Australia’s most underrated red  wine with a 60 year pedigree (see below).

Closing the historic Coonawarra winery and relocating the team to the Barossa seems to have had little impact on the quality so far. TWE has also pushed the release date forward, which now sees the black label released at 2 years of age.

We have Sue Hodder and her team to thank for the consistent quality of the wines; it’s one of the longest partnerships in Australian wine. Viticulturist Alan Jenkins has worked with Sue for about 3 decades, and winemaker Sarah Pidgeon joined them 23 years ago. Sue says the Black label Cabernet is still the most important wine they make in Coonawarra, even though her team has created a bunch of much more expensive labels.

That’s not propaganda. Huon Hooke posts lists on his website that show his scores of wines from specific varieties, areas and vintage years. His list of Top 2010 Cabernet Sauvignons from Coonawarra has the 2010 black label in second place out of 50, on 97 points, just behind Wynn’s Messenger, and in front of Alex 88, Leconfield, John Riddoch, Penfolds Bin 169 and Yalumba’s Menzies. The John Riddoch is over $100, and the Penfolds over $300. The 2012 black label did even better, scoring 98 points and grabbing the No 1 spot from 56 competitors. 

Miracles Take a Little Longer

The obvious question is: How can a wine made in huge quantities be this good? How can a wine this good cost so little? How can the quality improve without the price going up? How did this winery produce such a consistent style while demands from its owners kept changing? And how come we can buy the last 7 vintages of the Black Label Cabernet for just a few dollars more than the current release? Or less in some cases.

David Wynn established this famous line over 60 years ago, and sold Wynns in the early seventies to focus on the Mountadam Venture with his son Adam. Over the last 50 years, Wynns has had many owners with different agendas. In the new millennium, the company ended up in the vast portfolio of Southcorp / Fosters / Treasury Wine Estates. These days Wynns makes a lot of different wines from its 500 hectares of vineyards in Coonawarra, from the basic white label range to icons like John Riddoch Cabernet and Michael Shiraz (introduced in 1982 and 1990).

From 2010, Sue Hodder introduced a black label Shiraz to keep the Cabernet company, along with a number of single vineyard wines that sell at higher prices, but the black label Cabernet remains the backbone of the enterprise. The wine with one of the most recognizable labels in the business became an institution long ago. These days it is made from the top 20% of Cabernet off Wynns’ terra rossa vineyards. Still, the volume is large and has kept the prices low, and made it easy for Wynns to keep back vintages for regular museum releases.

Lost in the Wilderness

After such a dream run, why has Wynns always been the poor cousin to Penfolds in the TWE family? It’s as if they only had enough people and money to market one brand. The black label is about the most well-known label out there! Then a few years ago, TWE added insult to injury when they moved the winemaking from Coonawarra to Karadoc in the Riverland, and to the Barossa for the ‘Masstige’ labels. Masstige is marketing bullshit for mass-produced, relatively inexpensive goods that are promoted as luxurious or prestigious.

I believe the last decade was the best we’ll ever see at Wynns. Sue Hodder and her team have made a string of great Cabernets, culminating with the great 2019. Huon Hooke gives it a huge wrap and 97 points. Even the super-critical 3 amigos at the Winefront are fans of the Black Label Cabernets, even if their scores rarely match their rave reviews. Chris Shanahan is another fan, who says you can buy the black label for its RRP of $45, if you try really hard.

Right now Wynns is a wine lover’s heaven, with reds that other companies would charge 2 or 3 times as much for.

Bold Vision and Hard Yakka

Over the last 20 years, Sue Hodder and Allen Jenkins have overseen a program of revitalizing and replacing the old vines damaged by excessive machine pruning. Sue and Sarah Pidgeon have developed a consistent style: precise Cabernet expression, bright fruit, seamless oak integration, elegance with depth of flavour, medium-bodied (13.5 – 14%) with great line and length and fine tannins on the finish.

It must be said that Sue Hodder has won many battles over her 25 years at Wynns. She says she was expected to make bigger reds than she wanted to when she started with Wynns, but she returned the style to elegance and lifted fruit, to maturing the wine in French oak barrels to enhance the style; 20% of the wine is aged in new barrels. She also made sure her team got the best winemaking equipment available, including an optical grape sorter. The real winners are we lucky punters, of course.

The Wines

Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 – $30 at MyCellars where the freight is free for subscribers on any quantity. A warmer year, but the team has somehow managed to maintain the freshness of fruit, the cool of the mouth feel and the classy style this label is famous for. More reviews at the link.

Wynns Coonawarra Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 – $35 at United Cellars. This vintage passed me by somehow. Stuart Knox at The Real Review talks about an ‘Ink black core into a deep purple rim. Cassis, dry earth, graphite and dry tobacco aromatics. Medium to full-bodied with an intensity and concentration that is beautifully balanced by fine-grained tannins that drive the palate incredibly long. A seamless wine that will cellar for many years. 95 points. 

Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 – $32 at JIMURPHY. A close to perfect vintage that delivered a close to perfect black label. It’s choc-full of seductive dark berries, cassis and cherries, subtle smoky oak and hints of dark chocolate. Seamless integration, great line and length with a fine tannin finish. I love the shape of these wines, the depth of flavour in a medium weight, elegant package. 97 points. Will last for years but will be hard to keep your hands off.

Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 – $32 at MyCellars. A little bigger and firmer than thw 2019, a classic black label built for the long haul. Perefct Pitch. 96+points. The wine gets good reviews from others as well. (check the link). 97 points from Huon Hooke, 96 from Jeni Port, and 93 from the scrouges at the Winefront.

Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 – $34 at Wine,com.au. 2017 was a wet year, and no single vineyard wines were made; there will be no John Riddoch either. Huon Hooke’s review says: ‘Very deep, bold red/purple colour, youthful and fresh, as is the bouquet. There are intense, fresh, vibrant ripe blackberry and blackcurrant cabernet aromas galore and oak takes a back-seat. A very smart, elegant, intense and tidily-constructed Cabernet. It shouts “Coonawarra”. 94 points.’  

Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 – $36 at JIMURPHY’S. A Cabernet from a warm, dry vintage. Rich, almost opulent, ripe dark cherries, oak in the back seat as usual, good line and length, fine tannins on the finish, but the wine isn’t on song right now. It lacks energy. 93 points. Andrew Caillard gives it 98 points and calls it ‘a brilliant black label with all the hallmarks of a great vintage, reflecting the Coonawarra terroir at its best.’ Best check for yourself.

Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 – $38 at Jimurphy. Huon Hooke rates this vintage as one of the best, along with the 2012, and scores it 98 points. It felt big on release but alcohol is right on average at 13.8%. It’s rich and ripe with great depth and length yet elegance and finesse too, and it’s good drinking early in its life My only quibble is some bottle variation I’ve seen over 5 years and about as many bottles. My average score is 95 points.

Wynns Black label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2014. This vintage wasn’t on song either when I opened a bottle a couple years ago. A bit angular, and four-square. 92 – 93 points. Huon Hooke likes it though: ‘Very deep, youthful purple colour, with a hi-fi blackcurrant, mulberry nose with a trace of blueberry. It’s all about the fruit. The wine is intense and powerful but also supremely elegant, the tannins super-fine. All elements of the wine are in superb harmony. It just needs time. 95+ points.’

Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet 2013 – the only source I can find for this wine is as part of a 3-pack, which includes the 2015 and 2016. The price is $130 at wine.com.au. This vintage didn’t grab me when first released, but 8 years later it’s a different story: it’s full-flavoured, rich and concentrated but not heavy. The classic cassis fruit is backed up with subtle pencil shavings oak, good line and length, and fine tannins on the finish. Classic Black Label firing on all cylinders, with years in front of it. 96 points.

Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $50 at Garnet Cellars. It’s a great release from a great year, with gorgeous dark fruit and seamless oak treatment. It’s medium-bodied but tastes richer than usual, with great depth of flavour and perfect balance. Great drinking now and for the next decade. There are 6 reviews at the link. Huon Hooke gives it 98 points, 97 points from me. This is my pick of the last decade, with the 2013 hot on its heels.

Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 – $65 at Canterbury Wines. The 2010 didn’t grab me in its youth, despite the outstanding vintage, but it’s really opened up and now shows great depth of ripe dark cherry fruit backed by subtle French oak; the fruit is richer and more succulent than usual, and the tannins on the finish softer. Seductive drinking now and the next few years. 95 points.

I never noticed the subtle changes to the classic label over the years until I took this shot.

Some light Reading:

Tasting notes from Chris Shanahan

Insightful Interview with Sue Hodder

Why Wynns Coonawarra Estate is one of Australia’s best-value wineries, indepth piece by Huon Hooke

Wynns Coonawarra – short story – long shot, indepth piece by yours truly

Subscriber Pete L. dropped into Yalumba and got a big surprise

‘Hey Kim,

Yalumba. Yes, that ancient Barossan dinosaur. Or so I thought. We were visiting a friend up Eden Valley way and happened to be rolling past Yalumba with time to kill. Never been there but your tip on the Y Series wines piqued my interest.  Looked big and corporate – probably owned by TWE or some other faceless corporate empire run by soulless bean counters. I braced myself for well rehearsed spiels and big red wines that wanted to hurt me. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong! My good experience started with a carpark shaded by huge European deciduous trees. Very welcome in a place that can be oppressively hot in summer. Wandered up to the tasting room and was stunned by the beautifully manicured grounds – their gardeners are next level OCD. Quite obviously not farmed out to a generic grounds maintenance company. This is more like an old retired guy who does it for the love of it. Stunning. They provide you with a map of the place which identifies every tree. There’s that OCD again – that I appreciate so much.

Heading inside we were met by a woman who was quite passionate about her job. Surrounded by that classic Barossa timberwork that has a smell to it that’s hard to describe – maybe I’ll call it “The Barossa Winery Smell”. All of the chunky timber, all of the barrels, bottles, awards, history placards, etc, etc. But the real revelation was the wine. Not tired old reds trying to hurt me at all – these guys have moved with the times and we enjoyed some beautiful fresh examples. They have numerous paid-for tastings but we’re tight-arses so Kath went for the Whites Flight at $10 and I did the Samuel’s Collection cos the wines are priced nearer to what I’m likely to actually buy. Of course it was the mid-range Viognier that I wanted to try after consuming so much of the Y-series (which isn’t mentioned at the winery – I imagine that’s some sort of “made for Dan’s” kinda deal that pays the bills but they’d rather not admit to). Once the woman realised that we were into their Viognier she fired up and quickly a couple of tastings of their Virgilius top-end Viognier appeared on our table. It did not disappoint. Tasting their mid-range offering next to the Virgilius resulted in not wanting to drink the mid-range wine! So complex and opulent. Had to buy one to take home.

https://www.yalumba.com/wine-tasting

I also enjoyed their mid-range Chardy (nice light chardy but still with a bit of character), and the Grenache was also excellent – once again a lighter modern style that ticks all the boxes. She felt the need to join us up to their obligation free wine club that gives 10% discount with no strings attached. She also gave us a no-spam guarantee and actually said that the management prefer a “soft sell” approach. So refreshing! We left with a Virgilus ($45), a Grenache ($25), a Shiraz-Cab ($25) and a Chardy ($25). I’ve since found the Grenache (2021 – yesss!) at Licker-Land on special for $20, so I grabbed a handful of those. These are very decent wines at these prices even if they don’t quite make the “Under $20” mark.

I did listen to her spiel though, and was super pleased to find that Yalumba is actually still “family owned”. I nearly fell off my chair. After starting in 1853 it’s still in the same family. If only this happened more often. We’ll definitely be going back to taste their top end stuff. And do another wander around the grounds.

PL

‘The 2022 releases from Kumeu River are fantastic.’ Matthew Dukes

I’ve been banging the drum for Kumeu River for several years, as you know. New Zealand had 3 near perfect vintages in a row: 2019, 2020 and 2021. By contrast, 2022 was a difficult year for some regions in the wake of Cyclone Dovi and the rain it brought with it.

The cyclone sailed past Auckland, according to Michael Brajkovich, and Kumeu River had another good vintage. I bought a lot of the 2022 Kumeu Village Chardonnay, which is the best I can remember. I also bought some 2022 Estate chardy, and found it richer and riper than Bob Campbell at the Real Review did.

Matthew Dukes agrees with Bob, and says: ‘While the 2022 Estate Chardonnay is usually a forward-drinking style that brings top-class Chardy to the table at an affordable price, you must put your brakes on with this vintage. In 2022, the Estate Chardonnay maintains its keen price, and it demands a further year of slumber before you unscrew the top! It is by far and away the finest Estate Chardonnay I have tasted from this perennially appealing property.  In fact, I wrote the words ‘extraordinary gravitas’ about this oft-innocent wine.’

Image source: Real Review

Sounds like I need to go and get my tasting gear tuned up. About the Kumeu Village, Dukes says: ‘If you want to drink a 2022 right now, slip down the ladder one notch to the 2022 Village Chardonnay. This wine is joyous, open and welcoming.’

I love the distinctive style of Kumeu Chardonnay, the pristine fruit, the depth of flavour and texture (malolactic fermentation is encouraged rather than avoided), seamless oak integration, and very fair pricing given the quality of the wines.

Dukes’ top Chardonnay from Kumeu in 2022 is ‘the sublime Hunting Hill, which shows effortlessly classy fruit, unending beauty and superb control. It is the most forward of the bunch because of its silkiness and openness, and I doubt it will shut down. I have a feeling that it will do something that very few Chardonnays ever manage – to start its life fully open and maintain this full blossom of perfume and flavour until it fades in perhaps fifteen years.’

Of the Mate’s Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, the dearest and hardest wine to get hold of, Dukes says: ‘It is blunt, structured, four-square and belligerent, and it will perhaps take a decade for this wine to reach its apogee. There is no doubt that 2022 Maté’s will be part of endless 2022 Chardonnay line-ups (alongside star Burgundies) in years to come.’

The Hunting Hill and the Mate’s chardies are way above our self-imposed limit, but white Burgundies of equal calibre cost several times more. Edinburgh Cellars in Adelaide still have some Kumeu Village chardy left at $22.50 for a 6-pack.

The World at War

As the year 2023 draws to a close, the world is at war in so many places. Our world is also more deeply divided than I’ve seen in my lifetime. Not just in the USA, where opposing forces seem to occupy different planets, but also in Europe where populist politicians are fanning the old flames of hatred.

Refugees from many war zones are the hapless subjects too often, and always seem to make ready scapegoats. Rational, civil discourse has become a rare experience. Instead we get insults, rants and diatribes, wedges pushed into soft underbellies where fear doubt and uncertainty live, missiles from hefty armories hurled across the trenches of deep divisions.

Civil Discussion – Innocent Victim

Brian M., one of our long term subscribers summed it up this way:

‘Civil discussion was an early victim of global warming. Later victims were LGBTQ+, The Voice, The Middle East and others.

These subjects can no longer be discussed rationally among friends, without polarity, emotion, umbrage, and even anger endangering the friendships.

So, important matters are simply not raised, among people who like and respect each other. We retreat to trivia and small talk.

A few public voices fist it out in the media, and politicians vacillate, but we stay quiet.

This is not how it should be.

If something can’t be discussed or criticised, it can’t be valued.’

I think it’s going to take a lot of hard work to restore civil debate as the norm.

Wine as a Retreat

A few subscribers have politely suggested that I should stick to the subject of wine and food. We used to have civil discussions over scrumptious dinners and seductive wines. These days we discuss the wine and food, because it’s safer. And travel and other stuff that’s harmless.

I write about wine and food most of the time but this website is a free speech zone. We launched Muscles & Marbles late in 2023, a resource for boomers who want to stay fit and health; boomers who want to stay out of hospitals and nursing homes.

It’s a place where we share the latest research on health, and blow up many of the entrenched medical myths that have turned this once great sporting nation into one of the world’s fattest and sickest.

Here’s a brief but poignant example of the vital research we share: ‘Can Too Much Information Harm Patients?’ an excerpt from Scientific American, written by cardiologist Eric Topol.

And here’s a post on the dangers and benefits of drinking red wine: Red Wine: Cluster Bomb or Fountain of Youth?

Stories as a Retreat

Great novels can be a great comfort, but our personal likes and dislikes come into play here. Good stories with universal appeal are hard to find. Tracey found several: ‘Horse’ by Geraldine Brooks, whose husband died while she was writing that book.

‘Horwitz’s sudden death three years ago,’ writes Susan Wyndham in the Sydney Morning Herald, ‘opened an abyss from which Brooks had to crawl to finish ‘Horse’, a novel infused with love, loss and shared history.’

Tracey also loved ‘All the Light we cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr. A very big story in very small print put me off despite the quality of the writing and the Pulitzer Prize. Needs plenty of time and a love of detail to appreciate.

I loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, one of the most original stories I’ve read in many years. What a wonderful imagination this writer has!

Back to Basics

The good news is that we still find lots of great wines between $10 and $20, and on either side of that narrow range.

There was the Kumeu Village Chardonnay 2022 for $21. Sadly it’s all gone, and the 2023 is a much leaner style of wine.

The Dog Ridge Butterfingers Chardonnay 2022 is still available for $21. It only took 6 months for the rich, ripe fruit to come to rise to the top of this little gem.

A late discovery is the Deep Woods Chardonnay 2022 from Margaret River that’s just $15 at 1^st Choice and Vintage Cellars. Rich and ripe with good depth and fine texture. Absolute bargain.

The Rosily Semillon / Sauvignon Blanc 2023 was a stand-out at $23 (from Winesquare)

The 2022 Rieslings from Clare were among the best I’ve seen in 50 years of my love affair with Riesling.

The Robert Oatley Signature range, still $17 at Our Cellar if you’re quick. They’re all great value, with the GSM and Shiraz leading the charge.

 Jim Barry ‘Barry & Sons’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 was the red bargain of the year for me at $17 (1^st Choice), alongside the Hidden Label Coonawarra Cabernets 2020 and 2019 from Kemenys, for the same money (Leconfield Cabernets in a plain wrapper)

2021 Grenache reds from Yalumba and Peter Lehmann (both around $20) showed 2 things: what a great vintage 2021 was in South Australia, and what a dumb idea the South Australian vine-pull scheme of the 1980s was (with low-yielding old Grenache vines the biggest victims).

Further down the price scale we found bargain such as Deep Woods Ebony Cabernet Shiraz 2020 for $11 at 1^st Choice, and the Hidden Label Frankland River Tempranillo 2021 for $13 at Kemenys.

That’s enough for now

May 2024 bring more peace and more enlightenment to the world around us.