2023 Levantine Hill Estate Chardonnay, Yarra Valley

From a selection of blocks picked over the course of three weeks, including clones Bernard 95, P58, I10V5 and Mendoza. Levantine doesn't subscribe to the region's winemaking styles, and the Estate Chardonnay is always a strong expression of this philosophy. There's nothing linear about it, rather a preference toward plumes of flavour, oak spice, clotted cream, billowing layers of crème anglaise, yellow plum, fresh fig, nougat, lemon posset, tarragon and pistachio. The secret to its balance is the undeniable tension from natural acidity. The weight of oak, mlf and lees is pinned to a spine of searing refreshment and enduring length. Beautiful. Drink to 2034.

95 points Katrina Butler for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

A well-balanced, generous and fruit-driven chardonnay with plenty of freshness and tension. Confit lemon, salted nuts, nashi pear, filo pastry, sweet spice and flint. The palate is taut and focused with a rounded mouthfeel, finishing balanced and refreshing. A lovely wine showing the vintage. Drink or hold.

94 points Ryan Montgomery for James Suckling, September 2026

Aromas of citrus rind, just-ripe stone fruit, white flowers, oatmeal and white flowers. Mealy, textured and mouth-filling, with a drive of stone fruit, nutty, creamy oak and punchy acidity. Long and layered. Drink to 2033.

93 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, March 2026

The 2023 Levantine Hill Estate Chardonnay is a blend of the Bernard 95, P58, I10V5 and Mendoza clones, with fruit handpicked across several parcels in the Hill Road vineyard over seven days from the 10th of March.

Each parcel was vinified separately, and the fruit hand sorted at the winery before it was whole bunch pressed, settled overnight and coarsely racked into various sizes of French oak barrels ranging from 228L barriques to 2,280L foudre, with approximately 9% new for the season, 7% second fill and the balance older and well-seasoned. Fermentation started with both indigenous and cultivated yeasts, with the wine spending a total of ten months in the barrels during which some barrels underwent malolactic conversion, and the lees were minimally stirred across all.

The final blend bottled on the 1st of February 2024 with a small addition of sulphur dioxide.

About this producer

Levantine Hill was established in 2009 by the Jreissati family who remain its current owners. Based in the Coldstream subregion of Yarra Valley, their holdings encompass two vineyard sites, the lower Maroondah Highway site planted between 1995 and 2016, and the steep Hill Road site planted from 2009 to 2015.

Chief winemaker Paul Bridgeman is a well-regarded Yarra local who managed Yarra Yering following the passing of Dr. Bailey Carrodus. He has been guiding Levantine Hill’s wines since 2013 and today works closely with winemaker Peter Shore.