Wills Domain Paladin Hill Margaret River Chardonnay 2022

There was an early excitement about vintage 2022 Chardonnay as grapes arrived in Margaret River wineries, and, now that wines are being released, that excitement is real. This Will Domain 2022 Paladin Hill certainly makes for one WOW of a Chardonnay! Brings the Gingin clone into focus– the clonal basis for Margaret River Chardonnay’s enduring success – with a rush of lush, summer stone fruits, poached quince, grapefruit with rockpool sea spray notes that bring that added something to the aroma. So expressive, takes you immediately to Margaret River. Minimal lees stirring and 10 months in quality French oak allows the fruit to showcase rather than the winemaking, filling the background with added complex notes in almond nuttiness and buttered toast, while giving full sway to marvellous stone fruit, citrus with some juicy poached quince bite. And, so elegant and smooth and, yet, so young.  This one is a keeper – as true to Margaret River Chardonnay as you can get.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic