From the Funder & Diamond vineyard, planted in Wandin East in ’90. Very brightly coloured. What a wonderful wine, even by Oakridge Funder & Diamond’s reputation as one of, if not this country’s greatest, chardonnay. Aromas of stone fruits, gently toasted hazelnuts and subtle oyster shell. With its latent power and structure, this flows mellifluously across the palate. You could put this in a lineup of any great chardonnay, made anywhere in the world, and it’ll look good. Trust me. A steal at this price and a wine destined to cellar beautifully over the next decade, if not longer.

Cape Mentelle

This is an outstanding chardonnay and quite frankly one of the very best I've ever seen from Cape Mentelle. It comes off Block 10 on the Chapman Brook Vineyard, which is now more than 30 years old. After hand-picking, it was pressed with wild fermentation in oak and then aged for a further 10 months. The result is a wine of quite pretty pure characters with a precision and poise that is most impressive. This was a very warm year, but the earlier ripening chardonnay has emerged largely unscathed, and this is one of the best examples of what can be achieved from this region. There's a lovely white peach, grapefruit and citrus character merging with a little chalky acidity on the nose. On the palate, it's fine and yet there is tremendous intensity harnessed and focused through to the finish, which is incredibly long. A first-rate wine this.

Savaterre

A brilliant example of Beechworth chardonnay's undoubted power formed around a core of citrus, quince, stone fruits, pear, lemon curd biscuit and hazelnut. Complex at every turn, it weaves a course across the palate, tight in nervy energy and tension. It has fine-edged acidity, ripe fruit, streamlined vanillin oak, leesy notes and a budding complexity; remember, it is very much early days for this chardonnay. Comes together well and in perfect tune to close.