critic reviews
Stands head and shoulders above so many in the lineup, delivering grip, lift and joy. Slowly stretches out through the palate, gunsmoke, preserved lemons, elderflowers, white pear, delicious, full of impact and personality, skilful winemaking teasing out a ton of character.
The 2024 Yattarna Chardonnay is creamy, sleek and so polished. This is a brilliant wine. This and the Reserve Bin A usually duke it out for my favorite wines of the release each year, and in the end, I don't suppose it matters too much which wins. The Yattarna is stylistically typified by streamlined composure, length and compact complexity, while the Reserve Bin A is more flinty and more immediately seductive. I love them both. Anyway, both of these wines in this year's release look fantastic. This Chardonnay mimics the Grange in that it is also a multiregional blend. This has ever been the case, and this wine was often (I'm not sure it still is) referred to as "white Grange." In 2024, it was sourced from Tumbarumba (75%), Adelaide Hills (13%) and Tasmania (12%). The 2024 Yattarna Chardonnay season was shaped by cool-climate conditions across Tumbarumba, Adelaide Hills and Tasmania—it feels crazy to lump the three in as one, given their differences and distance apart, but the generalization works ok in this context. Mild summer weather, extended hang time and minimal heat stress allowed slow, even ripening, while staggered harvest timing supported balance across the blend. It has an alcohol content of 12.5%, with 6.6 grams per liter of acidity and a pH of 3.19. The wine was matured for eight months in French oak barriques, 56% new and 24% one year old.