A collation of Chardonnay parcels harvested off choice Yarra Valley sites, including the auspicious estate properties at Tarrawarra and Dixons Creek. De Bortoli operate the most well established Chardonnay vineyards in the region, her viticultural team have had decades of practice at training their vines to yield the finest harvests. Long on the palate with all the vital Yarra Valley stonefruit flavours, Vinoque is enhanced by old world vinification techniques to become nutty and complex, immensely satisfying and long on the palate.

An assemblage of elite parcels from Gisborne's most prestigious vineyards. Katoa and McDiarmid Hill are western edged sites on gently north facing hillside slopes. Blessed with auspicious aspects and ample sunshine, drying breezes and cooler temperatures. A choice harvest from the propitious Ledger Block in the middle of Patutahi, contributes the richness of fully ripened fruit. The luxury of oak barrel ferments infuses opulent smokey, grilled nut characters, creamyness and serious palate weight, an extended finish of exquisite French cake house complexities.

A collation of harvests from splendid vineyards in Te Ika-a-M�ui, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne provide the backbone of fruit. Waipara and Marlborough contribute components at the fruitier end of varietal spectrum. Fashioned to a medium bodied style that's delicately aromatic, soft on the palate and appealingly dry, ideally enjoyed alongside crisp skinned chicken or sticky pork ribs.

The Vavasours settled New Zealand and established one of the first homesteads in Marlborough circa 1890. Proud of their long association with good wine, the Vavasours were employed by William the Conqueror as tasters. There's a single block of outstanding, fully mature plantings on the Vavasour estate vineyards in Awatere Valley which yields a sensational Chardonnay. Creamily textured and richly proportioned, opulent with juicy white peach characters and redolent of ripe nectarine, a refined, elegant style underpinned by divine flinty minerality.

Margaret River is recognized as a more modern style of Chardonnay, focusing on varietal fruit characters while permitting oak and fermentation complexity to support, not overwhelm. Heytesbury represents the best Margaret River Chardonnay Vasse Felix can produce each year, a regional flagship assembled from a barrel cull of the most spectacular parcels, representing the finest of vintage, articulating the complexities achieved through natural ferments, increased solids exposure and quality French oak.

A Chardonnay of extraordinary freshness, slightly more fruit forward than its icon Heytesbury sibling. Vasse Felix create a complex, softly textured wine, crafted to the old world traditions of wild yeast ferments and regular stirring in fine French oak. The final effort is distinct, elegant in style and true to Margaret River. Typified by its bright, delicate fruit and tight, underlying acidity throughout, a reflection of the purity to be found in Margaret River, a Chardonnay of compelling primary fruit flavours within a palate of the soundest structure.

Tucks Ridge continue to produce the style of wines that other estates can only dream about. Chef TV superstar Iain Hewitson came to Tuck's Ridge once for a single episode of his cooking adventures and filmed seven. So what's not to love about Tuck's Ridge? An assemblage of six vineyards around the foothills of Dromana, Red Hill and Merricks North. All are north facing blocks, critical to fruit development.

The Apulian shoreline has been visited for millennia by raiders and traders who plundered for booty or traded for profit. The Greeks and returning Crusaders brought grapevines from the east, Chardonnay arrived much later as local growers imported plantings from Le vignoble de Bourgogne. Apulia is surrounded on three sides by sea, the maritime climes stimulate vines and infuse grapes with the prevailing brinyness of salty winds. Just perfect for Chardonnay. A crisp fruit forward Chardonnay that smells of Mediterranean and tastes like the fruit of paradise.

Vinified from top quality fruit grown to superb vineyards at Dixon's Creek and Yarra Glen, crafted by the winemaking teams of Shadowfax and Yering Station. Toolangi are highly regarded by industry peers, their Chardonnay is a tribute to a great vineyard, pruned and thinned to yield minimal harvests of the finest fruit. An intense, savoury meal and mineral nose precedes a solid palate of penetrating fruit character and exquisite charm. Well structured, forward drinking and full of flavour, Toolangi are at the cutting edge of Yarra Valley Chardonnay.

By those wonderful folks who bring us Shaw & Smith, Tolpuddle was planted to vine in 1988, on a highly precious site along Back Tea Tree Road, just outside Hobart. The inaugural vintage claimed Tasmanian Vineyard of Year in 2006, Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith acquired the property in 2011, with a view to elevating the excruciatingly limited release Tolpuddle wines to the status of a national Grand Cru. A singular experience in new world Pinot Noir, Tolpuddle unravels endless layers of pastoral complexity, powerfully structured yet elegant, immaculate and poised.

An assemblage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from three superior estate vineyards in Piccadilly Valley. Terre a Terre take a decidedly artisanal approach to Rosé, setting aside parcels of fruit, which exhibit the interest and complexity for an engagingly blush coloured wine, as influenced by the old world techniques of Sancerre and Bandol. Batches are whole bunch pressed into seasoned oak barriques for vinification and a course of maturation on gross sedimentery lees. Its comely Rosé de Provence hues presage an exquisite palate of fragrant summer berry characters and mouth wateringly, crisp saline minerality.

The zenith in Clare Valley Chardonnay, St Andrews are a true labour of love for the Taylor family, sourced from an historical property adjacent to the estate wineworks. St Andrews continue to attract an impressive array of international awards and recognition for their outstanding quality. Parcels of French Bernard clone Chardonnay are selectively hand picked off the distinguished Angela block G30 and Victoria block V20, carefully sorted and gently pressed into the extravagance of new Louis Latour French oak for an opulent barrel ferment and course of age.

Taylors take aim at crafting a rich and generously proportioned Chardonnay of great elegance, delicacy and finesse, by assembling components of Clare Valley and Margaret River fruit. The result is closely knit, deriving synergies while presenting the highlights of two distinct terroirs. Each parcel contributes its own charm to the finished wine, an enlightening, multi dimensional experience, achieving an intensely flavoured, complex Chardonnay wine layered with luxurious oak barrel ferment creamyness and crisp, west coast minerality.

There's a very special southerly facing block at TarraWarra, which was planted to the auspicious Mendoza clone from cuttings off the illustrious Leeuwin Estate vineyards in Margaret River. There are few harvests like it in Yarra Valley, treated to a gentle whole bunch press into French oak barrels for a wild yeast ferment and ten months of age. Defined by its creamy grapefruit curd richness, intensity of flavour and magnificent length, Yarra Valley Chardonnay which bridges the gap between well fleshed fruit and crisp savouryness, moreish at the finish on a lingering note of frangipane and spice.

Out front of the TarraWarra property sits a quirky herd of metal sculptures by artist Jeff Thompson, permanently grazing under a stand of trees. From fruit grown to mature Yarra Valley vines, TarraWarra's estate Chardonnay is crafted in much the same way as their flagship Reserve, the addition of a tank fermented component contributes freshness. A beautifully made, golden Chardonnay wine which over delivers, with its clean precise palate, luxuriously leesy barrel ferment characters, textural creaminess and superior length.

Tiers is a mere three hectares of intensively managed, closely planted, historically significant Chardonnay vines. The growing seasons at Piccadilly are uncannily similar to the microclimes of Burgundy and Dijon. Tiers Vineyard was the first site planted in the region since the nineteenth century and is at the centre of the Piccadilly Valley, at 450 metres, near the Petaluma wineworks and Brian Croser's home. The Chardonnay vines on Tiers Vineyard were derived from an old Davis California clone, originally imported from Mersault during the 1880s. A mere 300 dozen are produced.

Tapanappa are a joint venture of elite peerage, a vinous concord between Petaluma's Brian Croser, Champagne Bollinger and Chateau Lynch Bages. Brian Croser selected the Piccadilly Valley at the centre of the Adelaide Hills in 1978 because it provided the best terroirs in which to grow Chardonnay for Petaluma and for Croser sparkling. Grapes are all hand picked and destemmed into a high proportion of new French Vosges oak barriques for ferment through the action of home yeasts over the course of a cool Piccadilly Valley autumn. Ripe peaches, quince and fig, marzipan and vanilla oak complement the fresh fruit.

A smooth, powerful and intense Chardonnay of great complexity. Wild yeast, lees and elegant, well-integrated oak combine with Tallarook's intense green melon and citrus flavours, to form a harmonious palate with deeply satisfying texture and lingering, savoury aftertaste.

Swings & Roundabouts retain access to some of Western Australia's best vineyards. Their rounder and more deliberate style of Chardonnay targets fresh drinking rather than oak overkill. The pick of Margaret River's fruit is vinified into a finely honed Chardonnay wine with effusive stonefruit/ apple characters and brisk vegetative acidity, made even more attractive by a course of luxurious barrel ferments, adding texture and infusing the wine with warming vanilla spice. A treat alongside prawns or chicken caesar, Swings & Roundabouts is an easy to appreciate aperitif style.