Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2023

The fruit for this very fine Yattarna, a standout for the vintage, comes from Tumbarumba, Adelaide Hills and Tasmania. The wine spent eight months in French oak barriques, 60% of which were new, the remaining 40% just one year in age. The colour offers hints of straw and there is perhaps more oak evident at this early stage than we sometimes see with Yattarna, but it is deftly handled and integration is proceeding apace. There is a spiciness already apparent, and notes of stone fruits, citrus and peaches, along with fresh oystershells and limes. The wine has that exemplary Yattarna refinement. On the palate, those alluring lemon and peach notes are even more to the fore, while the oak fades to a minor supporting role. The wine has focus, serious length and is already exhibiting the first hints of the complexity which will surely continue to emerge. A ten year proposition, there is plenty of room for this wine to improve even further. This might not be a great Yattarna, but it is an extremely good one.