2023 Bin 311 Chardonnay

This 2023 Chardonnay Bin 311 has some upfront grunt as it delivers a solid serve of compact nectarine and peach skin aromas wound up in well managed but prominent French oak with a nice little kick of gunflint. The palate then retreats a little from the initial promise and tightens up to restrained nutty and melon flavors. A good effort for the vintage.

‘Baby Yattarna’, a wine that used to be from a single region but is now a blend. 46% Tasmania, 29% Adelaide Hills, 20% Tumbarumba and the rest from Henty. Barrel fermentation and maturation in new and seasoned oak. 100% malo, like all these Penfolds Chardonnays (because they are not filtered, this minimises the risk of a malolactic conversion in bottle). Pale straw. Very malo-milky nose with good acidity. Sufficient fruit, and a little note of the flavour and texture of citrus peel on the end. A little short. (JR)

Grilled banana and crushed nuts, white beach sand and brine dominate the aromatics of this 2023 Bin 311 Chardonnay. On the palate, the wine is complex and creamy, with a citrus line of acid that cuts through the almost opulent fruit in the mouth. It doesn't quite get to melons and cumquat, but it nudges those riper ideas. There's an opulence and width to this release, yet the acidity keeps it on track. The wine matured for eight months in French barriques (21% new). It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.17 and 6.7 grams per liter of total acidity. Sealed under screw cap.