The Yarra Valley is one of Australia’s premier cool climate growing regions for Chardonnay, and Yering Station is one of the most historic wineries here, with roots going back to the 1830s. The 2021 “Estate” Chardonnay is both a benchmark example of a lightly oaked wine from the Yarra, as well as an exceptionally good value. Now with several years of age, the golden fruit notes (apple, pear, lemon oil) have melded perfectly with the toasty oak aromas, and the fine, persistent line of acidity continues to hold the wine together, steering it into a surprisingly long finish. This is a more restrained, elegant, mineral-driven style of Chardonnay rather than a heavy oak-bomb — the winemaking choices here (whole-cluster pressing, only 30% new oak, large format puncheons for fermentation and maturation, and blocked malolactic) emphasize freshness and finesse over fruit ripeness. The result is a superb cool-climate modern Australian Chardonnay that balances minerality, fruit intensity, and oak beautifully. It's not a flashy wine by any means, but it has weight, texture, and concentration to age for several years more.

Fresh out of the bottle, the first thing that pops out, scent wise, is a nicely clean mineral driven nose with white peaches and raw nut scents. With a little warming, the stone fruit scents become a little more plush. On the palate, the opening is infused with lemony flavors. These expand and flesh out into yellow and green apple flavors (leans a bit more toward green) with lush peaches. The whole shebang finishes with a nice clean oak note.