2022 Dawson & James Chardonnay, Derwent Valley

Beguiling symphonic elegance with soft fruits lapping at the nose and a rapture of silky texture and lime curd acidity blissfully adorning the palate. Effortless.

96 points & Gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025

As a judge at last year's Tasmanian Wine Show, I gave a trophy to this wine. It's a cracker. Pure white peach, nectarine, lemon and grapefruit with subtle wisps of struck flint and hints of soft spice, grilled nuts, nougat, clover blossom, judicious vanillin oak, crème fraîche and sea breeze. Filigreed and wonderfully balanced. There's a slow ache of umami – like a flake of sea salt melting on the tongue – and a sapid, fine acidity that matches the fruit beautifully. So delicious. Drink to 2034.

96 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, July 2026

Light, bright yellow-green colour, promisingly reserved for its age. The bouquet is sotto voce and again youthful and shows lemon curd, pencil shavings and snuffed candle aromas, while the palate is elegantly reserved and fresh with honeydew melon, white peach, nectarine and bosc pear flavours. Subtly complex, refined and intense with excellent line and length. This is a high-quality chardonnay which is built to age and is drinking superbly now, with years left in it. Drink to 2034.

94 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, December 2025

The fruit for the Dawson & James Chardonnay is sourced from a single patch of I10V5 clone Chardonnay vines planted in 2000 on the Far Horse block at Meadowbank, a cool site producing flavour ripeness with modest levels of grape sugar. Hand-picked and whole bunch pressed, it was fermented in Burgundian oak barriques of which 40% were new. The wine was allowed partial malolactic conversion and matured on fine lees with regular lees stirring.

About this producer

Dawson & James is the collaborative project of winemakers Peter Dawson and Tim James. A long-term friendship with the Ellis family has given them access to mature vines in one of the best vineyards in the state, the Meadowbank in the Derwent Valley.

Driven by ever improving quality, they believe that Tasmania will be home to Australia’s finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines in the future, and that their best wines are yet to come.