What a magnificent wine! A pioneer in the modern Australian Chardonnay stakes, the Vat 47 from the Hunter Valley has a silky bouquet of melon stone fruit and creamy oak that is followed by a palate of extraordinary balance and length. An absolute classic and will only get better with some medium term ageing.

Le Haut-Lieu was the estate’s first vineyard, purchased in 1928. Situated on the Première Côte, it’s a 9-hectare plot on deep brown chalky clay (known as aubuis). Here the yellow limestone (tuffeau) bedrock lies up to four metres down, making for a richer soil that produces round, supple wines that can drink very well young. It generally produces the earliest maturing of the three cuvées and is usually ready to drink first, but, like Clos du Bourg and Le Mont, the wines can be extremely long-lived. We have enjoyed bottles from the ‘40s that are still drinking very well!