Robert Parker/Wine Advocate – 92 Points - "The creamy and mellow 2020 Catena Alta Chardonnay
comes from a warmer year, and the wine shows it. It still
has moderate alcohol (13.6%) and ripeness and keeps the
balance and poise, but the oak is a little more noticeable than
in the 2021 I tasted next to it." Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
James Halliday – According to Pierro’s website, the music to play while tasting this wine is Delibes’ Flower duet from the opera Lakmé, described, in part, as “balanced perfectly with richness, depth and hidden power. Long lingering finish that leaves one feeling delightfully pensive and soothed.” Reads like a tasting note for the wine. Yet who sings the duet is important – my favourite recording is the incomparable Dame Joan Sutherland and Jane Berbié. Like the Dame, this wine is powerful, rich and precise. It’s full-bodied and layered with ripe stone fruit, nutty, creamy lees and spicy oak, and yet, the super-tight acid line seems to corral all those overt flavours into submission driving to a long, resounding finish while allowing moreish, savoury aspects to rise – lemon-lime freshness cleansing the palate. Impressive.
James Suckling – Quince, ripe apple skin, and acacia followed by pistachios, almonds and a hint of beeswax. Medium- to full-bodied, crisp acidity with underlying sliced ginger notes on the palate and finish. Pungent and complex wine. Dry at the end with a slight oiliness.
James Halliday – P58 clone planted by the Farr and Weir families in ’79. Whole-bunch pressed, cold-settled, fermented and matured for 9 months in French oak (75% new), minimal batonnage and partial mlf. The most striking of all the Clyde Park Chardonnays. The intensity of the fruit has managed to make light work of the new oak without any fuss, leaving the purity and elegance of the white peach fruit to occupy centre stage with only a whisper of grapefruit in the natural acidity. Made by Matt Holmes.
Allen Meadows – A restrained nose flashes only a touch of exotic character on the spicy aromas of mostly yellow orchard fruit, iodine and rose petal. There is excellent underlying tension to the larger-scaled flavors that brim with both minerality and dry extract that complements well the bright and firm acidity shaping the lingering finale. This is potentially excellent and one to check out. *Sweet Spot, Outstanding*
James Halliday – "From an east-facing contoured vineyard that catches all the morning sun. Perfectly ripened white stone fruit with a quick squeeze of Meyer lemon. Has been fermented and matured in French oak in such a way as to leave the gorgeous fruit centre stage, the palate of endless length." - James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)
Robert Parker/Wine Advocate – The 2018 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons is showing beautifully, mingling notes of white peach and spring blossom with hints of Meyer lemon, crisp green apple and pear. Medium to full-bodied, its satiny attack segues into a tensile, vibrant and nicely concentrated mid-palate, concluding with a saline finish.
Robert Parker/Wine Advocate – 90 Points - "The 2021 Catena Chardonnay is vibrant and harmonious,
with great balance and freshness, varietal with elegant and
shy aromas of white flowers and a long, dry finish with purity
of flavors, unnoticeable oak and very good overall balance." Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate.
The Wine Front – Pungent start. Steaming pineapple tarte Tatin. Appetising. More sweet pastry, some coconut nuance, lavender, almond nougat, wood spice. It’s full-on with power, energetic, pushing with a hit of ripe flavour and a whack of grapefruity acidity. I want to say it’s meaty with crushed bitter sage finish. Flavours linger in the back palate with a big lick of lime and salt. It has great intensity that needs time to settle.
Chardonnay holds a special place in the hearts of wine lovers due to its versatility and wide range of expressions, depending on where it's grown and how it's made. Originating in the Burgundy region of France, this grape has found homes in almost every wine-producing region around the world.
In its birthplace, Chardonnay produces some of the world's most revered white wines. In regions like Chablis, the wines are often mineral-driven, with high acidity and lean profiles. Move south to the Côte d'Or, and the wines gain richness, complexity, and often a touch of oak.
The New World offers its own expressions. Places like California, especially regions like Napa and Sonoma, produce Chardonnays known for their full-bodied nature, often accompanied by flavors of ripe tropical fruits, vanilla, and butter. Meanwhile, regions like Australia's Margaret River or New Zealand's Marlborough produce wines that strike a balance between Old World minerality and New World fruitiness.
This grape's adaptability and the myriad of styles it can produce is what makes Chardonnay a perennial favorite. Whether you prefer unoaked, mineral-driven whites or richer, oaked versions, Chardonnay offers something for every palate, reflecting the diversity and richness of the world's wine regions.
Chardonnay is the most planted white wine grape worldwide and is cultivated in nearly every wine-producing country. Chardonnay is a noble varietal, but it’s also sturdy. It thrives in cold and warm climates, from the frosty vineyards in Champagne to sunny California. The question is. Why is Chardonnay so popular? And what does it taste like? Is Chardonnay dry or sweet? Let’s talk about the illustrious grape and the wines made with it. Few wine grapes are as versatile as Chardonnay, so the wines made with it are always a pleasing surprise. Here’s what you want to know about Chardonnay.
Chardonnay is a white wine grape native to Burgundy. It is the offspring of the equally famous Pinot Noir and the rare Gouais Blanc and has been cultivated since the Middle Ages. Chardonnay produces medium- to full-bodied white wines, which can be fermented and aged in stainless steel or spent time in oak barrels. Most wines made with Chardonnay are fermented to dryness, meaning winemakers allow the yeast to turn all the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol. Chardonnay produces dry wines. Of course, in wine, there’s an exception to every rule. Producers in the New World sometimes allow Chardonnay grapes to hang in the vine for weeks after they ripen. These late harvested grapes can become sweet wine. The category, though, is rare.
Chardonnay produces some of the most concentrated white wines in the world, and concentration is a synonym for age-worthiness. That’s why fine White Burgundy, one of the nicest Chardonnays, can be aged for years, if not decades. The same goes for high-end Chardonnay produced elsewhere. Enjoy youthful Chardonnay within its first three years after the vintage. Oak-aged examples can still be enjoyable after the five-year mark. After that, only the most concentrated wines made with extraordinary grapes from prestigious sites will still be at their prime. However, wine doesn’t go bad in a day, but it will lose properties as it decays.
Chardonnay expresses its terroir nicely, so wines made with the grape will taste different depending on the climatic conditions where the grapes grew. Chardonnay from cold climates might offer scents of green apples and pears along with citrus notes and minerality. Chardonnay from cold temperatures will taste like golden apples and white flowers. Warmer climates will make Chardonnay smell and taste like tropical fruit, including mango and pineapple. Since Chardonnay often undergoes Malo-lactic fermentation, you can also expect buttery scents along with yeast aromas reminiscent of pastries. And if the wine is aged in oak casks, it will also have brown spices and vanilla on the nose and palate.
Chardonnay might be versatile, but its producers can only use it to make a few wine styles. Un-oaked Chardonnay and oak-aged Chardonnay are the most common, and they’re always white and dry. Producers can also make sparkling wine with Chardonnay, which can be blended with red grapes to produce sparkling rosé. If you want to see what the noble Burgundian grape can do, explore our selection of the best Chardonnay in Australia. Only at World Wine. What is your favourite wine made with Chardonnay?
We aim to have all wines be vintage specific. In the case the listed vintage is out of stock and you note you would like that particular vintage, we will inform you via email for approval to go ahead.
Delivery Times
To be able to supply such a unique & extensive range of boutique wines, we don't hold much of the inventory. So with us, there is the added step of receiving the wine from our local suppliers before it is dispatched to you. Most orders are dispatched within 3-6 working days.
Quality Guarantee
Replacement or refund offered if bottles are faulty or damaged. All our deliveries are insured against loss, however you must notify us in a reasonable amount of time.
Sending a Gift
If you would like to include a gift message with your order, please enter that in the order instructions section. We'll print your message in a lovely font on A5 paper. We also won't include the invoice. Tracking will be sent to the email on file.
We aim to have all wines be vintage specific. In the case the listed vintage is out of stock and you note you would like that particular vintage, we will inform you via email for approval to go ahead.
To be able to supply such a unique & extensive range of boutique wines, we don't hold much of the inventory. So with us, there is the added step of receiving the wine from our local suppliers before it is dispatched to you. Most orders are dispatched within 3-6 working days.
Replacement or refund offered if bottles are faulty or damaged. All our deliveries are insured against loss, however you must notify us in a reasonable amount of time.
If you would like to include a gift message with your order, please enter that in the order instructions section. We'll print your message in a lovely font on A5 paper. We also won't include the invoice. Tracking will be sent to the email on file.