2024 TarraWarra Estate Swallowfield Vineyard Chardonnay 750ml

Overview

A striking single-vineyard Chardonnay from Swallowfield Vineyard in Gembrook, one of the Yarra Valley's most southerly vineyard sites. The 2024 release combines intense concentration with remarkable precision, layering grilled nuts, nectarine and citrus with saline minerality, wet stone and crushed chalk. Awarded 97 points and Gold by Halliday Wine Companion, this is a fine-boned, tension-filled Chardonnay with the structure and freshness to develop beautifully in bottle.

Vintage

The 2024 season began with a cool, wet spring extending into early summer, followed by warmer and drier conditions from mid-January. These conditions produced wines with excellent acidity, balance and flavour. The Chardonnay fruit was hand harvested on 13 March 2024.

Vineyard

Swallowfield Vineyard is located in Gembrook and is distinguished by a decomposed granite base that is seldom seen in the region. First planted in 1990 and extended in 2000, the vineyard now comprises 12 hectares planted entirely to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. One of the most southerly vineyards in the Yarra Valley, its Chardonnay includes Bernard clones 76 and 96 planted in 2000.

Winemaking

The fruit was hand harvested and cooled overnight before whole-bunch pressing the following morning. After a brief settling period, the juice was transferred to oak for fermentation. Once fermentation was complete, the wine was sulphured and left on lees for maturation. It was blended in October and bottled in December 2024.

Fermentation and maturation took place entirely in French oak puncheons and barriques for seven months, with 15% new oak.

Producer Tasting Notes

Colour: Pale straw, indicative of freshness and youth.

Nose: Lovely intense aromatics based around grilled nuts and saline notes with a background sea-spray lift. An undercurrent of gun smoke adds further complexity, edge and tension.

Palate: Intense concentration and depth, anchored by a savoury core of roasted hazelnut and almond praline. A fine thread of saline minerality drives purity and precision across the palate, lending both tension and clarity. Subtle nuances of wet stone and crushed chalk emerge through the mid-palate, adding textural complexity that lingers long into the finish.

Critic Reviews

97 Points & Gold — Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
From a mature Gembrook vineyard now leased by TarraWarra, Philip Rich describes this first release as a superb wine. He highlights its subtle marine character, nectarine and pink grapefruit aromas, followed by a chalky-textured, elegant and fine-boned palate packed with tension, with the potential to unfold further over at least five to seven years.
Published 28 August 2025

94 Points — Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
Tasted August 2025

94 Points — The Wine Front
Tasted April 2025

About TarraWarra Estate

TarraWarra Estate was established after founders Marc and Eva Besen purchased the property in 1979. With encouragement from legendary Yarra Valley winemaker Dr John Middleton, they planted the estate's first six hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1983. The property has since developed into a renowned Yarra Valley destination encompassing vineyards, a winery, cellar door, restaurant and the TarraWarra Museum of Art.

Specifications

• Vintage: 2024
• Grape Variety: Chardonnay
• Region: Gembrook, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia
• Vineyard: Swallowfield Vineyard
• Clones: Bernard 76 and 96
• Alcohol: 13.0%
• Fermentation: Oak fermented following whole-bunch pressing
• Maturation: 7 months in French oak puncheons and barriques
• Oak: 100% French oak, 15% new
• Drinking Window: Now–2034