The magical chardonnay that stopped a winemaker in his tracks

For legendary winemaker Bruce Tyrrell, it comes standing in the vineyard, a clutch of grapes crushed in hand and juice running down his arms. It’s the magical moment of realisation that something glorious is being created.

Even after 60 vintages, the occasions when Tyrrell has had that special feeling linger in his memory.

The fourth-generation winemaker and scion of one of the country’s oldest winemaking families chuckles when he recalls the joy of picking chardonnay in 2023 for the Tyrrell’s Estate Grown series – and the quality he sensed then in his grapes is not just the benefit of hindsight.

Buried in the notes made for his annual vintage report that year is a line from February 10, 2023, which records that moment, soon after picking. “If we don’t make a mess of it this will be one of the really good chardonnay years,” he wrote. (Spoiler alert: they didn’t. And it is.)

You don’t have to take Bruce’s word for it, mind, as the 2023 Tyrrells Estate Grown Chardonnay is one of the quartet of wines in this week’s special offer case from The Australian Wine Club, a nation-traversing set with some serious credentials.

Apart from the 95-point Halliday-rated Tyrrell’s chardonnay, you’ll find the 2024 Holm Oak Tasmania Chardonnay (94 points, Halliday Wine Companion), the 2023 De Bortoli Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay (93 points, Halliday Wine Companion) and the super premium 2020 Mountadam Marble Hill Eden Valley Chardonnay, which usually sells at $80 a bottle.

For Tyrrell, there’s no substitute for walking the vineyard when it comes to making quality wine. He admits to spending “a lot of time walking up and down rows of grapes tasting berries”.

 

“It’s when you pick the grapes, right?” he muses. “You smell them and taste the juice, and you know.

“I’m a bit more inclined to get a whole bunch and crush them in my hand, taste the juice. You’re looking for that fullness of flavour right across the palate with balanced acid.

“The last thing you want is green acid, because that will come through into the wine; it doesn’t taste very nice.”

There was little danger of that 2½ years ago, with Bruce noting now that “you’d have had to have been pretty foolish to mess up ’23”.

Less experienced hands might have been less sanguine at the time, given the hailstorm that went through Tyrrell’s home vineyard two weeks before harvest and, in some cases, knocked out 20 per cent of the fruit.

In his vintage notes, Tyrrell seems more curious than concerned, and perhaps more excited by the post-Covid return of multinational backpackers to help pick the fruit.

“Well, it depends whether you’re a worrier or not,” he tells us. “I don’t worry. It’s like stress, I don’t believe in it. If you get stressed, all you’re doing is wasting the time that you could be spending fixing the problems.

“You’ve got to be thinking five to six days ahead during vintage. If someone’s saying that we have to pick this, then OK, if we do that tomorrow then something else will miss out.

“But those ’23 chardonnays … it doesn’t matter whether it’s from one end (of the price scale) to the other, whether it’s $15 a bottle or $115 a bottle, they’re good all the way through.”

Tyrrell’s Estate Grown Hunter Valley Chardonnay 2023

This sophisticated chardonnay opens with melon and nectarine on the nose, citrus notes and dried apricots, even a little nougat and grapefruit. The palate unfurls with bitter orange and more of the grapefruit, notes of cumquat and a subtle sprinkle of spice. It’s quite lean, with good length and a hint of salinity at the close that screams “fish and chips” in any language. Supreme quality indeed. 13% alc, RRP $40 a bottle.

SPECIALS $38.99 in any dozen, $29.99 in our chardonnay dozen.

Mountadam Marble Hill Eden Valley Chardonnay 2020

“Seamless” was our panel’s summation and it really is the complete package. A bright straw colour with hints of green hints at the complexity to come, with a nose full of spice, ginger biscuits, nectarine and citrus artfully matched with oak. The palate is creamily rich upfront with roasted cashew, ginger and vanilla, but finishes crisp and clean with a long, lingering finish. 13.5% alc, RRP $85 a bottle.

SPECIALS $69.99 in any dozen, $29.99 in our chardonnay dozen.

Holm Oak Tasmania Chardonnay 2024

There’s a bit of Tasmanian sunshine in the golden hue, and a wash of grassy hay and citrus on the nose that segues into lemon curd, nectarine and vanilla. Take a sip and there’s more nectarine, grapefruit and honey melon, with a nice minerality on the palate. The long finish is crisp and refreshing with well-balanced oak and a hint of seaspray. 12.5% alc, RRP $40.

SPECIALS $35.99 in any dozen, $29.99 in our chardonnay dozen.

De Bortoli Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2023

There’s so much freshness here as you breathe in melon, stone fruits, a hint of banana and hay. White nectarine is there too, with some dried apricots. Then prepare for a creamy palate with balancing crisp acidity that delivers shape and length, with a lightly savoury tone dressed in splashes of citrus and hay. 13% alc, RRP $24.95 a bottle

SPECIALS $22.99 in any dozen, $29.99 in our chardonnay dozen.

CHARDONNAY DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $29.99 a bottle. SAVE $209.97.

Order online or phone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST and quote ‘ACCJ’. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550. Stockhead is partnering with The Australian Wine Club on this offer.