2024 McHenry Hohnen Calgardup Vineyard Chardonnay, Margaret River

One of those wines you think 'yep lots to enjoy here', as it’s detailed and delicious. It’s full of white stone fruit and grapefruit and is flinty and spicy, with judicious oak integration adding spices but also some flesh across the palate. It’s luscious with nutty, creamy lees. Super-refreshing acidity encases the richness – although it’s by no means a big wine. Drinks well today and will build more complexity in time.

95 points Jane Faulkner winecompanion.com.au

From the southern reaches of Margaret River near Karridale, McHenry Hohnen Calgardup Vineyard Chardonnay captures a cooler, more tightly wound expression of the region. The estate, founded by Murray McHenry and David Hohnen, has become a benchmark for biodynamic farming and site driven wines, with Calgardup prized for its gravelly loam over clay soils and strong ocean influence. These conditions slow ripening and build natural acidity, shaping a Chardonnay of precision, energy and mineral detail.

A pale lemon hue with bright green flashes shimmers in the glass. Aromas unfold with grapefruit, lemon zest and white nectarine layered with cashew, subtle flint and a gentle savoury edge. There is a sense of restraint here, finely tuned and quietly complex.

The palate is taut and finely structured, delivering citrus and stone fruit flavours framed by vibrant acidity and a chalky mineral spine. Notes of almond meal, saline freshness and gentle oak integration build through the mid palate, leading to a long, focused finish that feels both linear and persistent. This is a Chardonnay built on tension and clarity, with the structure to evolve gracefully over eight to twelve years, gaining savoury depth and nutty complexity.

Grilled abalone with butter and lemon, tempura zucchini flowers dipped into light soy, or a delicate sashimi platter shared as the evening unfolds. A spin of Bach’s Goldberg Variations or something minimalist from Arvo Pärt, the wine carrying that same sense of precision, calm and quiet intensity.