Small-batch Chardonnay from Marlborough negociants Novum. Stonefruit, cream and mineral on the nose. Flintiness meets fruit on the palate, making for a distinctive medium-bodied wine. An appealingly long finish shows this to be a top tier Chardonnay. Novum use small parcels of fruit from specially selected sites on established Marlborough vineyards to craft the best wines and expressions of terroir possible. Their first vintage arrived in 2016. Novums primary focus is on Syrah, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

WinemakingAll fruit was hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed. The cuvee taille (first cut free-run juice) was settled naturally overnight prior to racking to a mix of stainless steel tank and large format old barrels for fermentation.Fermented and aged separately in small batch lots on settled lees for nine months. The blended wine then underwent secondary fermentation in the bottle. This wine has been aged for an extended period on its autolysing yeast lees for more than four years to garner richness and complexity to its innate elegance and finesse.Winemaker's notesThe protracted growing season allowed a drawn-out ripening, resulting in an uncommon richness of flavour tempered by the abundant natural acidity contributed by the season.A bouquet of nashi pear, glazed brioche, lemon cheesecake and Amaretti buscuit. Flavours of nougat, lemon rind, jasmine and chestnut underpin a palate of steely acidity with delicated bubble, fruit weight and earthy 'sur lie' characters providing textural accompaniement, richness and creaminess to the finish. An excellent match for freshly-shucked oysters or semi-hard cow's milk cheeses.

Conceived as a white wine development program, the Bin 51 Riesling soon became one of Penfolds' star performers. Eden Valley is an obvious choice of region for Riesling due to the higher altitude and cool climate. The wine offers delicate aromas of fresh cut apples and pears with a twist of lemon and minerality towards the end. A great deal of fruits and acidity makes for an interesting white wine with propensity to age gracefully if carefully cellared.

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is often labelled as the brand that kick started the Kiwi Sav Blanc revolution. Without doubt it is seen as an international benchmark Sav Blanc noted for its vibrant aromatics, layers of pure fruit flavours and fine structure.

JOH. JOS. PRUM Graacher Himmelreich Riesling-Kabinett, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Moss Wood is one of the oldest Margaret River wineries and has an enviable reputation for high quality, stylish wines that are true to place. Arguably one of the country's top ten Chardonnays, this is a wine that demonstrates finesse and elegance in equal proportions to intensity and power. Fantastically bold yet classicly proportioned, this is a wine to be savoured with fine fare and great friends.

Sourced and grown in the Adelaide Hills, this is a fine example of how good Chardonnay from this region can be. This is a blend of 3 different cultivars of the Chardonnay grape. Bunch pressed and in part wild fermented. Partial malolactic fermentation imparts further complexity. A beautifully textured and complex wine.