2023 Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay

The famed Giaconda Chardonnay is one of the great wines of Australia.

Grown by the iconic Rick Kinzbrunner on the hallowed slopes on the outskirts of Beechworth township, this wine has carved out a unique place for itself in Australian wine.

Notable for its extraordinary power and ageing potential, it has long been held up as a bastion of quality Australian Chardonnay to the rest of the world. It is made in limited amounts and sells out without fail each and every year.

Always a hotly anticipated release. Allocations are extremely limited. If you want it for your cellar, you'll have to act quick.

98+ points
"The 2023 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay leads with an abundance of smoky, nutty, savory reduction. Here, the 2023 feels less exotic and softly spoken than the 2022 tasted alongside, with the 2023 showing more tension and focus. Neither has the extraordinary, otherworldly character of the 2021, also tasted alongside, yet the differences between the three is almost as exciting as having three vintages of Giaconda Chardonnay open at the same time. The 2023 only gets better the longer it is opened... Far from pinching the finish, the reduction provokes a physical response, one that requires more drinking to satiate."
- Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

98 points
"This is a tighter, maybe more refined expression of Giaconda Chardonnay, though it still has all the hallmarks of the estate. Plenty of struck match complexity, pink grapefruit, lemon oil, aniseed, oatmeal, fresh nectarine. It fairly sizzles with spice and cool acidity, plenty of flint and chalk dust texture, a nutty and savoury element here, a juicy citrus tang, dried pear with cinnamon, and closes zesty and electric, with a very very long finish. I can’t always say Giaconda has inherent drinkabilty early on, but this wine kind of does, and in that way, it’s probably my favourite release to date. It has great bone structure and cool vintage complexity. Of course it will cellar so well. It would drink well, I think, with a rabbit pulled out of a hat."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)