Tasting Notes
Wine Advocate 98
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.
Anticipated maturity: 2026-2044
JancisRobinson.com 17.5+
Enticing, mouth-watering aromas, some fresh fig, hints of honeyed quince, gentle spice, cool flint. Lovely, elegant, poised, harmonious Chardonnay. Altogether, salivatory acidity. Surprisingly moderate 12.5% abv – more restrained than previous Yattarnas. Lots of potential to evolve, to reveal even more layers. Max Allen
Anticipated maturity: 2026-2039
Decanter 97
A stunner of a vintage for Penfolds’ top Chardonnay! Immediately intriguing with its savoury and mineral nose; think briny salinity, struck flint and slate, but with hints of brioche, macadamia and blossom too. Such depth to the palate, which has a taut mineral core, elegantly layered with oyster shell, green olive and creamy golden citrus; framed by precise acidity and with incredible persistence.
Anticipated maturity: 2027-2047
Jane Anson 98
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.
Anticipated maturity: 2026-2032
James Suckling 98
The quality and prestige of this renowned bottling jumps from the glass, balancing deep unctuous aromas of grilled lemon, orchard fruits and citrus blossom intertwined with a reductive salty edge of wet stone, flint and cashew. The palate is packed with flavor and complexity that is almost overwhelming until the salivating acidity cuts right through, leaving a tense and flamboyant finish. Grand cru quality, drinking wonderfully now with plenty of time to unravel in the cellar. Made from fruit grown in Tumbarumba, Adelaide Hills and Tasmania. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
