2023 Marchand & Burch Chardonnay, Mount Barker

Strikes immediately with complex and intriguing notes of faint struck match against a background of grapefruit, vanilla bean and tart nectarine. The palate texture has been created with a mix of oaks of different ages and formats with partial malolactic fermentation. Has a subtle cracked seas-shell character permeating against the dry savoury minerality. Shows the virtues of the Mount Barrow vineyard with its mix of clones adding variety and complex options to the wines. Drink to 2031.

97 points Ray Jordan Wine Review 2027

The 2023 Mount Barker Chardonnay hails from the magnificent 2023 season, which was long and mild, dry and fine. The wine leads with white-flesh stone fruit, white flowers and juniper, salted cashews, cilantro and crushed seashells. The palate is imbued with powerful laser-like acidity and structural, potently intense fruit, with flavors like biting into a ripe peach and of something salty like pistachios. The acidity here is salivating and juicy, and the length through the finish is impressive. The fruit for this wine is sourced from several vineyards in the Mount Barker subregion, and their elevation has given the wine its personality. This is impressive, a magnificent wine.

95 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, November 2024

Light-mid yellow hue, with a fresh, fruit driven aroma, subtly herbal and oak has been very subtly handled. It builds some malt, buttered toast and roasted nut subtleties with time in the glass. Good length and balance, the finish clean and appetising. It will certainly build more character and complexity if given the time. The makings are there for an excellent chardonnay in a year or two, the quality and potential already there in the glass. Drink to 2037.

95 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, September 2024

A lovely balanced Chardonnay with complexity and freshness in spades. Grapefruit melds with nougat straight off, before lemon juice and white florals. Air and warmth unlock pops of crushed cashew nut, makrut lime, lemon rind, nectarine and a lovely saline mineral note adding inviting savoury complexity. Lovely lift and freshness to the palate with gorgeous texture beneath. Lemon juice and pith, grapefruit, nectarine, nougat, seaspray, and subtle underpinnings of cedar are framed by citrussy phenolics and gorgeous saline acidity. Excellent length and poise through the finish. A very classy, fresh, and complex Chardonnay of immaculate balance. Bravo.

95 points Tom Kline for Wine Pilot, September 2024

An impressive offering with no shortage of flavour yet everything composed and in its place. So the fruit, the spice, the oak and lees are in harmony, balanced and nothing dominating. The palate is very even, fine and long, all thanks to beautiful, refreshing acidity leading this to a long finish. Drink to 2033.

95 points Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2024

Marchand & Burch is a collaborative label established in 2007 by Burch family of Howard Park in Margaret River and French-Canadian winemaker Pascal Marchand whose illustrious CV can namedrop Burgundian names like Domaine Comte Armand and Clos de la Vougeraie. The wines presented are sourced from grapes grown in Western Australian and Burgundian vineyards