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 young and approachable white wine, this wine has been crafted to last a long time in the cellar. The well balanced palate contains fresh citrus elements supported by crisp acidity, leading to a clean finale.

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.

Named of the sundial erected in the vineyard in 1842, Wehlener Sonnenuhr is the most famous vineyard in the Mosel. Extremely steep with optimal south-south west exposure, it yields fragrantly floral wines with ripe stone fruit aromas, underlying slately minerality and wonderful depth of flavour and structure. The Spatlese wines are very reticent in youth, blossoming between two and four years of age to display vibrant green apple, and white stone-fruit notes supported by a backbone of racy acidity.

Pale gold in the glass, with green highlights. The nose is lifted and aromatic with white blossom, ripe, yellow stonefruits, toasty oak characters, and a complex nuttiness, shot through by minerality. The palate is rich and textural, with layers of fruit, balanced by citrus-like acidity. Long and finely detailed on the finish. 100% Chardonnay from vineyards in the small appellation of Ladoix.The soils of the upper slopes are pebbly and reddish (iron-rich olite) with a high limestone content and quite marly. These suit great white wines. The grapes are harvested by hand and then directly pressed in a pneumatic press. Alcoholic fermentation takes place entirely in French oak barrels, of which 30% are new. The lees are stirred (bâtonnage) occasionally during ageing, which lasts 10 months. Jaffelins history is inseparable from that of the Collégiale Notre Dame de Beaune (the Notre Dame collegiate church in Beaune). Over the centuries, their cellars have housed the wines of the Collégiale and the Cardinals. The cellars changed ownership in 1816, when the Jaffelin brothers established themselves as negociants in the region. Today their wines rest in the monastic tranquility of the Chapitres cellars, just as they did eight centuries ago. Jaffelin entered a new chapter in its history in 2004, after completely renovating the vat room, and equipping it with modern winemaking equipment. They strive to bring out the Burgundy terroirs, cru by cru, wine by wine, at every stage of the winemaking process.

Graacher Himmelreich is a renowned vineyard that borders the southern edge of its more famous neighbour Wehlener Sonnenuhr. The Spatlese examples typically show lime and lemon sherbety aromas with savoury and honeyed overtones and pronounced slately minerality carried along by signature Mosel racy acidity.

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.

The wine expresses characters of lemon curd, glazed apricot Danish, ginger snap and orange blossom team with savoury underlying buckwheat, lanolin and toasty char complexity. These work in concert with a tactile calcareous interplay underpinning a silky pear-like texture. A lingering line of acidity provides the backbone but allows for the richness, weight and flavour, directing to a resounding and expansive finish. where body, flavour & palate weight co-exist with structure, texture and restrained acidity. Complex fruit characters of white nectarine, saffron, Pink Lady apple, chamomile flower, cashews and Leatherwood honey work in concert with a tactile interplay of chalk, silkiness and Beurre Bosc pear-like texture. Subtle acidity provides the backbone conveying the fruit and weight to a resounding finish.

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.

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.