2024 Paringa Estate The Paringa Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula

Light-medium yellow; some smoky reduction at first sniff then morphing into roasted hazelnut and oatmeal, the palate rich and generous, with good fruit intensity and complexities from oak and winemaking inputs adding detail. Gorgeous flavour and generosity while retaining great elegance. Drink to 2038.

95 points Huon Hooke for Wine Pilot, March 2026

The 2024 The Paringa Single Vineyard Chardonnay is aromatically restrained and led by spice rather than overt fruit, which is no bad thing. In the mouth, the wine is concentrated, spicy, lean and mineral. There is wet steel, crushed chalk, white orchard fruits, preserved citrus and saline acidity. The phenolics woven through the finish are firm and, set against the backdrop of acidity, feel a little astringent at this early stage, although this will be mitigated by some further time in bottle. Be patient. Drink from 2027 to 2034.

92 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, April 2026

Established by Lindsay McCall in 1985, Paringa Estate is one of the Mornington Peninsula’s leading producers, with a reputation built on meticulous vineyard work and a commitment to showcasing the nuances of site and vintage.

The Paringa Chardonnay comes from a block of nine rows in Paringa Estate’s home vineyard, almost 40-years-old at the time of the harvest. The vineyard in southern Red Hill is a north facing amphitheatre of closely spaced vines tucked into a hillside and carefully managed to produce low yields and highly concentrated fruit.

Winemaking has been in the hands of Lindsay’s son Jamie McCall since the 2017 vintage. The handpicked fruit for this wine was whole bunch pressed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak puncheons. The wine went through malolactic conversion and was lees stirred for added complexity and creaminess.