8 of the Best Chardonnays From Australia

After sampling a range of Australian Chardonnays in recent weeks, I feel pretty much the same about them as I do about the Pinot Noirs from Down Under I described in my last column: They’re sleeper wines that deserve far more attention.

Like the Pinots, many of the smaller-production Chards present with vivid fruit, refreshing acidity, and touches of minerality. Cool-climate California, Oregon, and even Burgundy, including the Mâcon subregion, come to mind.

And yet, there aren’t a lot of them on wine-store shelves — one of my go-to retailers, for example, had exactly one, a 2021 bottle from Tasmania. The vintage suggested that the wine had been lying around for a while, with not much demand.

So what is the case for Australian Chardonnay? Attractive prices, for one, relative to more famous regions where the grape is produced, a fact that will become even more important if the Trump administration makes good on its threat to slap 200 percent tariffs on French and other European wines.

But beyond price, many of the Australian Chardonnays I sampled are simply delicious and are defined by subtle use of oak and moderate levels of alcohol.

I discussed the Chardonnays with Gordon Little, the owner of Little Peacock Imports, a New York-based importer of Australian wines, who says Chardonnay has become “really popular” there, a big change from 15 years ago.

“Chardonnay is everywhere and everyone is drinking it and buying it,” he says. In fact, Chardonnay is Australia’s most planted white variety and is second only to Shiraz (Syrah) in overall plantings, according to Wine Australia, the regulatory board that promotes Australian wine.

The resurgence of Chardonnay “also speaks to stylistic developments,” says Little, adding that “the pendulum swung too far buttery-oaky and then it swung, in my view, too lean and mean and high-acid and now it’s sort of come back to the middle.” As the wine world moves toward leaner, less alcoholic wines in general and Chardonnay in particular, Australia seems well positioned.

Chardonnay is grown throughout Australia’s winelands, which are in the southern part of the vast country, and top regions include the cool-climate Adelaide Hills in South Australia, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley in Victoria, and the ocean-influenced Margaret River region of Western Australia.

And with climate change pushing Australian winemaking ever-farther south, Tasmania, the island state about 250 miles south of Melbourne, is becoming increasingly important as a producer of top Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Here are eight of the best Chardonnays from Australia:

Vasse Felix ‘Filius’ Chardonnay 2023

Vasse Felix, founded in 1967, was the first winery established in the Margaret River region, and this Chardonnay from its moderately priced Filius line demonstrates the remarkable price-to-quality factor of Australian wines. With perfect oak integration, the wine shows aromas and flavors of Granny Smith apple and lime, with a touch of vanilla and flinty minerality.

Price: $20
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Howard Park Margaret River ‘Miamup’ Chardonnay 2023

Another Margaret River wine, this one bursts with crisp acidity that balances the wine’s considerable oak influence. Notes of apple, orange zest, and lime are punctuated by a mineral touch on the long finish.

Price: $20
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Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay 2022

From the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, this Chardonnay shows beautiful balance with red apple and stone fruit flavors, along with hints of nutmeg, vanilla, and butterscotch. It’s a prime example of how Australian Chardonnay, like Pinot Noir, can achieve excellent fruit ripeness while maintaining moderate alcohol levels, in this case 12.5 percent.

Price: $30
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Ashbrook Estate ‘Wilyabrup’ Chardonnay 2023

This wine explodes with flavors, including Bosc pear, green apple, and stone fruits with hints of vanilla and butterscotch, all of it infused with a flinty minerality and elevated by a perfect acid balance. The wine was fermented in French oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks.

Price: $25
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Devil’s Corner Tasmania Chardonnay 2022

Lean and mouthwatering, this minimally oaked expression has an ABV of just 12 percent. I found it evocative of Chablis, with lemon-lime, white peach, and apricot flavors and just a touch of cream on the finish. Another superb-value Aussie Chardonnay.

Price: $19
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Hewitson ‘Miss Harry’ Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2021

This one is interesting and different, a more oak-driven Chardonnay with tropical fruit flavors, white peach, and hints of green olive and flowers. The winery is in the famed Barossa Valley in South Australia but sourced fruit for this wine from the Adelaide Hills.

Price: $20
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Ben Haines Chardonnay 2022

From the Yarra Valley in Victoria, this Chardonnay is full of complexity with refreshing flavors of green apple, white peach, orange, and lime. There’s a nice leesy quality that lets it land softly with a long finish.

Price: $24
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Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay 2022

There’s a flinty note that’s quite prominent in this wine, infusing flavors of apple and stone fruits. There’s also quite a bit of oak, which provides a well-integrated vanilla layer. A somewhat bigger wine for those who prefer that style.

Price: $34
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