McHenry Hohnen is the quintessential family owned business with Murry McHenry and David Hohnen being brothers-in-law and the winemaking now being handled by David's son-in-law Ryan Walsh. With decades of Western Australian winemaking and selling history behind David and Murray the wines being produced are of utmost purity and subtlety. The Burnside Chardonnay is a relative recent addition to the range and is a funky, wild little number with attractive stone fruit characters that are balanced by a beautiful natural acidity.

The wine shows an amazing length of flavor and mouthfeel with strong, clean acid on the finish and some secondary characters derived from the slight solids ferment. A great example of Hunter chardonnay with its the citrus/acid backbone, which is a benefit of no malolactic fermentation.

A fine-boned Chardonnay that reflects vintage conditions and the character of a unique vineyard site purchased by Shaw + Smith in 2012. Inaugural vintage: 2014. Planted in 1999, the vineyard has east and west facing aspects and reaches 500 meters above sea level. The soil is brown loam over clay with some broken shale and stone on the ridges. The wine is100% hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed, then fermented and matured on lees in 500-litre French oak puncheons (30% new) for 9 months.

Lanson Blanc de Blancs Champagne was created by winemaker Herve Dantan, when he joined the Lanson House back in 2013. It combines the freshness style of Lanson champagnes with the delicacy of the Chardonnay. The grapes come from the best Chardonnay crus in Champagne including Oger, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Vertux. It is made with 40% reserve wines from Grands and Premiers Crus matured in Oak Cask and gets aged for 5 years in the Lanson House cellars before getting released.Lanson Blanc de Blancs is a gold luminous champagne with fine and lively bubbles. The nose reveal aromas of fine pastry, frangipane notes, candied citrus and fresh pear. On the palate this champagne is precise and generous, with flavours of candied lemon, almond, nougat and honey and a long finish.

As Australian Chardonnay continues its re-emergence, Vasse Felix Heytesbury is firmly leading the charge with its complex, modern style that has seen the winemaking team take home a cabinet full of trophies and gold medals in recent years. 100% wild yeast fermented and matured in French oak for only nine months, there is a power and persistence that is unmistakable. A flavour cavalcade of matchstick, citrus, white peach and grapefruit alongside a subtle toasty, nutty aspect from the sublime oak regime. The finish of this remarkable example will leave you in no doubt to this wines pedigree and ageability. Sheer classic.

Many of us wine drinkers have a soft spot for Chablis. Its with great reason too, given our climate and affi nity with seafood. A little over two months ago, we were thrilled when this wine hit our shores for the first time following a selective buying trip. Once again, it showcased its undisputed quality and notoriety in our tasting sessions. Established in 1850, this small family owned domain is the proven choice of so many when it comes to great Chablis. The estate comprises a mere 45 hectares of vines scattered throughout the region, grown on the famous Kimmeridgian limestone soils. Textbook in expression and style, super fi ne and elegant, this 2013 has perfectly poised, piercing acidity. This drives superb length of flavour on the featherweight light palate. Is there a better oyster wine?

A fine-boned Chardonnay that reflects vintage conditions and the character of a unique vineyard site purchased by Shaw + Smith in 2012. Inaugural vintage: 2014. Planted in 1999, the vineyard has east and west facing aspects and reaches 500 meters above sea level. The soil is brown loam over clay with some broken shale and stone on the ridges. The wine is100% hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed, then fermented and matured on lees in 500-litre French oak puncheons (30% new) for 9 months.