Awards and Accolades

91+ Points - Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front

2014 Vintage: 93 Points - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion
"Crisp style but with plenty of flavour. Drinkers' delight. Pear, apple and slips of delicious tropical fruit, with a chalky, textural aspect rippling through the finish."

From the Winery

Grapes for the Domaine Chandon Barrel Selection Yarra Valley Chardonnay were sourced from primarily cooler, elevated vineyards planted in red volcanic soils at Yarra Junction and Seville in the Upper Yarra. Grapes from these cool-climate sites have great delicacy, purity of fruit, and acid structure that show long, elegant, citrus and mineral characters in the wines they produce. These are the hall marks of our Barrel Selection Chardonnay style.

The winemaker spends many hours tasting grapes in the vineyards to determine the precise point at which each parcel of fruit is displaying its optimum flavour intensity and vibrancy. The harvest of individual parcels of Yarra Valley chardonnay stretched from mid February through to the first week in March, this proved fortuitous as the hot weather from March 13th was avoided.

The grapes were whole bunch pressed, a gentle process that yielded juice low in solids and phenolics. This juice was immediately transferred to fine-grained French Oak barriques, puncheons and large foudres for fermentation, a technique which further enhances the aromatic and textural layers of the wine. Post fermentation, individual components were lees stirred to enrich the palate texture. After nine months in oak an initial barrel selection was made, and after a total of 13 months the finest barrels were selected with only the most intense and vibrantly flavoured barrels chosen for the Barrel Selection Chardonnay.