Chardonnay is so good in Australia at the moment, in fact, that you could say we are in a golden age. 
TIM WHITE, Australian Financial Review, February 2008

The levels of achievement with sparkling wines and with white wines, as some of my international colleagues suggested, are often outstanding, with Australia unquestionably producing some of the best Chardonnay in the world outside Burgundy. 
ANDREW JEFFORD, Falling in Love Again: Australian Wine and the International Press, 2009

The chardonnay masterclass (Noosa Wine & Food Festival) was an impressive display and further evidence that Chardonnay in Australia is quite outstanding.  I would venture to say it's better than anywhere outside France.  HUON HOOKE, Sydney morning herald may 2010

While Chardonnay sales have been declining since 2004 - with sauvignon blanc overtaking chardonnay as the largest selling white wine variety in Australia by value in March 2009 - we completely agree with Tim White when he writes this is a golden age for Australian Chardonnay.  

Against a background of consumers turning towards lighter styles of white wine such as riesling and sauvignon blanc, and an image problem (not helped by Kath and Kim referring to chardonnay as "kardonnay") producers have set about re-thinking this variety to the point where there is now an ever growing brigade of sleek, balanced chardonnays that bear little resemblance to those of the past.

The changes have happened as vociferous critics (those ABC - anything but chardonnay – consumers) railed against the plethora of blousy, over-oaked, unbalanced chardonnays with high malos and alcohol. There was much in what they said and the desertion of the variety that followed became the catalyst for a major re-think, and all aspects of production from site selection, oak use, and clonal research have all been explored to the betterment of the wine.

The end result is a growing band of chardonnays that come off cooler more suitable sites that display minerality, a more sensitive approach to both oak use and malolactic fermentation. In Australia in particular this has also meant that we have seen the rise of the cooler areas of viticultural Australia as the main repository of good chardonnay replete with winemakers informed by the leaner, textured styles of the Cotes de Beaune.

This offer contains wines from nearly every wine producing state in Australia and from both established producers and regions (Cullen from Margaret River, Moorooduc from the Mornington Peninsula) to emerging wines and regions such as Epis from the Macedon Ranges and the Penfolds 311 from Tumbarumba located at the foothills of the snowy mountains in NSW.

These are just a handful of the wines offering ample evidence that chardonnay is back, and prove that when produced to this level is truly the most complex and noble of all white wine varieties. And to all the ABCers out there, it’s time for a rethink!

Cheers

Prince Wine Store