2025 Pepper Tree Venus Block Chardonnay, Orange

From a south-east-facing block on the estate Carillion vineyard that sits at 800m in altitude. A halo of lemongrass, apple blossom and talc powder. This is a chorus of citrus and a purée of white peaches and cream. This is such a tranquil wine, with a fine balance between driving acidity, gentle creamy pockets of almond and specks of vanilla. It chimes with fruit and manages to really showcase the tension of the Orange high-altitude climate with fruit intensity. The most refined Venus Block yet.

96 points Shanteh Wale for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2026

Pepper Tree is a Pokolbin based winery established in 1991. A family-owned business lead since 2002 by John Davis, its broad portfolio draws on fruit grown in four vineyards across Hunter Valley and Orange in NSW, and Wrattonbully and Coonawarra in South Australia.

The Venus Block fruit is sourced from a site at an elevation of 800 metres in the cool continental climate of Orange, NSW. The grapes are hand-picked, whole bunch pressed and fermented in a combination of French oak puncheons and a large 3,000L oak vat with regular lees stirring of the puncheons during its eleven-month maturation in oak.