Medium straw in colour this wine by Sidewood displays lifted white peach, fig, pear and pistachio nuts on the nose. This barrel fermented Adelaide Hills Chardonnay offers superbly structured characters. It is tight and lean, laced with citrus lime and tropical fruit characters. Some lovely subtle complexities from careful oak maturation on lees include nutmeg, sage spice and pistachio flavours which linger on the after taste. A lovely crisp wine now, that will benefit from some short term cellaring once bottled. Serve with Asian style broth, mushroom based dishes or Lobster bisque is a great match to this Chardonnays complexity in flavour, but finesse in structure.

Domaine Laroche, Les Chanoines Chablis A.C. Michel Laroche is the fifth generation of his family to grow Chardonnay grapes and/or make fine Chardonnay wine in the village where he was born and bred. You could say he has Chablis running in his veins.

A classic Peninsula Chardonnay with richness and complexity and underlying elegance. Peach and tropical fruit aromas combine well with nutty creamy oak and the palate is full flavoured and long.

Ageing for a minimum of 24 months on lees adds complexity to the fresh citrus, red apple and spring blossom aromas. The palate is crisp with a lingering, mouth-watering finish. A persistent fine bead and creamy mousse gives extra lift to these delicious aromas and flavours. Winemaking: Different parcels of fruit are all hand-picked and whole bunch pressed separately into tank for settling. Fermentation of these small batches lasts around 12 days and in 2012 only some parcels of wine were putthrough malo-lactic ferment to soften the acidity and add complexity. Others retained the full acidity to add tension and structure in the final blend. Food Match: Shellfish hors d-oeuvres

This is a newer world style of Chardonnay showing the elegance of fresh cool climate. Once harvested, the fruit was whole bunch pressed with the un-clarified juice that was fermented with inoculated yeast in seasoned French Oak Barriques. The wine by Paringa Estate was barrel stirred fortnightly during the eleven months of maturation and was sulphured early to retain fruit freshness & prevent malolactic fermentation. The bouquet of this wine is a mix nectarine, citrus/orange and complex sulphide solids aromas. The palate has similar fresh citrus & nectarine fruit flavours along with fine acidity. Chardonnay fruit combined with the complexity of barrel fermentation & maturation.

This wine is pale straw in colour and shows subtle grapefruit, mineral and flint characters on the nose. The palate has flavours of citrus and melon with savoury notes and a long dry finish.

The citrus rind and grapefuit lead the palate to an overall fine yet textural journey. Cape Mentelle Chardonnay had this distinctive minerally line too, apparent with focussed refreshing acidity. Faint nuancesof soft nougat and cashews also add to what is a harmonious balance and an elegant and length finish.

Brown Brothers Patricia Chardonnay is an elegant style balancing natural acidity with intense fruit flavour. Named in honour of Patricia Brown, the fruit for this exceptional white wine consists of 57% from the Brown Brothers Whitlands vineyard and the balance from Coombe Farm vineyard located in the Yarra Valley. The Yarra Valley experiences cool ripening conditions just like the Whitlands vineyard. The vineyard selection contributes to a tight style with wonderful fig and mealy characters typical of a cool climate Chardonnay.

A complex array of melon fig and cashew aromas is followed by a typically elegant and subtle palate with beautifully integrated oak. Petaluma had set a benchmark in Australian Chardonnay.