2024 Craiglee Chardonnay, Sunbury

A mid-gold hue and bright; full of white peach, chargrilled pineapple and lemon. It’s flavoursome yet well composed. A dab of spice, a fine layer of creamy/nutty lees and juicy acidity to close, and it all adds to the pleasure of drinking this. Drink to 2031.

93 points Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2026

The first vines were planted at Craiglee in 1863 by Melbourne businessman and MP James Stewart Johnston. He planted several varieties, of which Shiraz (then Hermitage) was to be the most notable one. His sons continued making wines at Craiglee into the 1920s, but the paddocks were later turned to lamb production.

In 1972 some of Johnston’s 1872 Hermitage bottles were opened at a function in Melbourne. John Brown Sr. of Brown Brothers was so impressed by the vintage that he decided to visit the Sunbury site, only to encounter Pat Carmody, then a young agricultural science student whose family farm now included the former Craiglee vineyard site. Pat saw potential in diversifying the land and planted vines on the original site in 1976.

Pat continues to make wine from fruit grown, hand-picked and bottled at Craiglee, and is involved in every step of the process alongside his wife Dianne. Using the same bluestone winery that Johnston built over 150 years ago, Pat’s approach to winemaking has been resolutely founded on a respect for the site’s history and a commitment to wines that reflect its origin.