2024 Voyager Estate Chardonnay, Margaret River

It was a challenging year, yet this wine has emerged rather beautifully. There was no MJW made this year, so some pretty high-quality fruit that would have gone there has come into this excellent wine. It is 90% Gingin with a little of the clone 76. The new oak contribution has also been reduced, and it only spends a few months in oak. They also use larger format puncheons, which contributes to a finer, more delicate, minerally style, with slightly melony nougat and light grapefruit citrus characters. An edge of cut lime on the finish and sea spray completes what is an excellent wine. Shy and reserved at the moment, but it will open up and develop. Drink to 2032.

95 points Ray Jordan Wine Review 2027

The 2024 Chardonnay is creamy, sophisticated and saline, with a core of peachy fruit and wrapped in a shell of fine phenolic structure. This is a very good wine here. Drink to 2034.

93 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, January 2026

The warm, dry 2024 season brought an unusually early harvest and lighter yields. The Chardonnay was picked early at Voyager to preserve freshness and acidity while capturing the season’s generous fruit weight. Gingin leads the blend, supported by Dijon clone 76. With no MJW Chardonnay produced in 2024, the estate bottling also benefited from fruit that might otherwise have been reserved for the flagship.

The season prompted a responsive approach in the cellar. As the wines developed more quickly than usual, winemaker Tim Shand brought forward blending and the move out of barrel, rather than following the previous vintage’s timetable. Larger-format puncheons and a reduced contribution of new oak form part of the 2024 approach, keeping the emphasis on the fruit and the vineyard rather than the imprint of the wood.

About this producer

Voyager Estate was established in 1978 on the gravelly soils of Stevens Valley in southern Margaret River, one of the coolest and most maritime-influenced parts of the region. The estate has been farming organically since 2017 and received full certification in 2023. All fruit is estate grown across five vineyards on granite and ironstone soils.