Rombauer Vineyards

Chardonnay Carneros 2023

Melbourne-raised Senior Director of Winemaking Richie Allen first began making this wine in 2004. ‘This is what we’re known for – this is what we do best,’ says Allen, who has been with the winery since that same year. The 2024 vintage, tasted in mid-December 2024, is bright, tightly coiled, and tense at present, but Richie assures me that within a few months it will evolve into the Rombauer style we all know and love. That’s because this is a low-sulphite, minimally handled wine: no sulphur is added until a small dose for stabilisation at bottling. As a result, the wine tends to stay wound up for the first six months, before unfurling into the richer, more tropical profile with toasty oak that defines the house style. Ripe fruit comes through clearly, with yellow stone fruit, Meyer lemon citrus, mango, and a creamy mid-palate accented by spice and vanilla from the oak. Bright acidity keeps everything lifted, and during my tasting the wine continued to build in the glass, gaining richness and creaminess with air. The fruit for this Chardonnay comes from Napa and Sonoma Carneros. It is barrel-fermented and aged for nine months in a mix of American and French oak, one-third of which is new. My notes from the previous 2023 vintage read: Candied ginger peel, rich citrus, and tangerine peel lead into baked pineapple notes on a very long, saline-mineral finish – and frankly, that description still applies. This wine is remarkably consistent and utterly delicious. If you love it, enjoy it, and proclaim it proudly.

This is a lush, ripe, relaxed classic with generous poached pear and peach pie flavors. Full-bodied, rich in fruit and spice flavors, with butter and caramel accents. All barrel fermented, with hand-stirred lees and full malolactic. Reasonable acidity and a super-relaxed texture. Drink now.

There's plenty of energy to the juicy and plump core of tangerine, mango and peach. Shows a distinctive spice note, with clove, cardamom and nutmeg making this distinctive, especially on the finish, which mingles seamlessly with toasted, buttery brioche details. Drink now. 349,220 cases made.