2025 d'Arenberg Olive Grove Chardonnay, South Australia

When it comes to Chardonnays available for under twenty bucks a bottle, this one must surely sit among the very best. After fermentation, the wine spent seven months maturing in French oak. The fruit is sourced from both McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills.Deep straw in colour, this is soft, full of flavour and rather delicious. Perhaps a little simple, but terrific drinking and it certainly drinks well above its price. There are notes of stone fruits and citrus with just a flick of oak evident. Seamless in structure, enjoy this now, but it will still offer pleasure over the next two to four years. You really can’t ask much more from a wine for this sort of money. Drink to 2030.

92 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, May 2026

The Olive Grove Chardonnay pays homage to the olive trees that have proliferated in McLaren Vale since its European settlement in the 1840's. This a soft and juicy fruit-forward Chardonnay with a delicate, creamy texture. It is at its best when served well-chilled within two years of the vintage.

Sourced from vineyards in the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, the grapes for this wine are crushed, chilled and basket pressed, with partial fermentation and maturation in well-seasoned French oak for seven months.

About this producer

The 1912 established d'Arenberg remains a family business, with fourth-generation Chester Osborn crafting bold, characterful wine with winemaker Jack Walton that continuing the family legacy of pushing the boundaries of the region.

The estate vineyards are substantial, with the family owning or leasing roughly 200 hectares in McLaren Vale, in addition to sourcing grapes from contract growers in the Adelaide Hils and the Fleurieu. Their own vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic, making family one of the largest biodynamic farmers in Australia.

The range of wines on offer is notable, with the winery vinifying nearly forty varieties in most seasons. The work at the winery remains highly traditional and labour-intensive despite their large scale, with all white and red wines pressed with gentle basket presses, and the red ferments foot-trodden by cellar hands in the original open concrete fermenters. The red wines are bottled without fining or filtration.