Yattarna Chardonnay 2018
Penfolds
Yattarna Chardonnay 2018
 Yatt Chard 750 AUS BB SC (7.7) (1).png)
Overview
Overview
Yattarna is the result of one of the most comprehensive, focused and highly publicised wine development projects ever conducted in Australia. The aspiration and independence of mind across generations of Penfolds winemakers inspired the ambition to create a white wine that would set a standard for ultra-fine Australian chardonnay.
Selectively sourcing only the very best chardonnay fruit from cool climate regions, coupled with sensitive winemaking, the style continues to evolve.
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Multi-Region Blend |
| Volume | 750 mL |
| Closure | Screw Cap |
| Alc/Vol | 13% |
| Peak Drinking | Now - 2033 |
| Winemaker | The Penfolds Team |
Awards and Accolades
Awards and Accolades
| 99 Points | James Halliday |
| 98 points | Tony Love |
| 98 points | Tyson Stelzer |
| 97 points | Ken Gargett |
| White Wine of the Year | 2022 Halliday Wine Companion Awards |
| 97 points | Ray Jordan |
| 96 points | Huon Hooke |
| 93+ points | Joe Czerwinski (Robert Parker Wine Advocate) |
| 19+ points | Matthew Jukes |
| 18 points | Jancis Robinson |
Tony Love
"Senior Penfolds white wine maker Kym Schroeter has overseen a very engaging set in three distinctive chardonnay styles. The top shelf 2018 Yattarna is a stunner, a superior wine in every way with extraordinary oak integration given 60% new barrique maturation for eight months. It seems more to be about a textural expression than flavour bombing and is one of the most sophisticated Penfolds chardonnays I’ve tasted on release – 98 points."
Andrew Caillard MW
"Pale gold. Elegant style wine with high pitched nectarine, melon aromas with flinty complexity. Intense pure lime grapefruit nectarine flavours, fine looseknit al-dente/ chalky textures, lovely mid-palate richness, underlying savoury oak complexity and fresh persistent crunchy acidity. Expressive and pure fruited with superb vinosity and mineral length. Needs time to uncoil and further develop. An austere yet voluminous Chardonnay where less is more. A highly individual and expressive wine that needs a few years to develop more complexity and richness. Judging by the recent Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings, the wine promises a lot more with further bottle age - 96 points."
Food Pairing
Food Pairing
Beef
Chicken
Fish
Seafood
Pork
Cheese
Pasta
Veg
Taste Description
Taste Description
Nose
A pedigreed stylistic first alert – subtle flint, more rock-flint than struck-match.
A mist of limey citrus, curry leaf and hints of white peach. Quite an exotic ascent... no need to coax from glass via
a vigorous swirl.
Understated spoils of cool-climate, barrel-fermented chardonnay – a lovely waxiness, whiff of cashew, and subtle creaminess.
A Southern-Hemisphere reflection extolling Burgundian restraint, temperament.
Flavours and Palate
At once, substantial flavour coupled with a textural dynamic; mouth-filling, engulfing – opens up aka mid-symphony, no instrument idle.
White stone fruits – just ripe nectarine and freshly-sliced peach, and the most subtle adornment of oak and zesty acidity.
A wonderful line struts across the mid-palate, not brazenly, yet with real purpose/destination and persistence.
Amplified innate potential; beautifully poised and defined.
More? Enough will not be enough.
Viticulture Vintage & Winemaking
Viticulture Vintage & Winemaking
South Australia
Home to the oldest vines in the country, and no less than 18 wine growing regions, South Australia accounts for almost 50% of Australia’s wine production. The Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Coonawarra are well known for their world class reds, with Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Eden Valley praised for their exceptional Chardonnay and Riesling.
Vintage Conditions
All three regions enjoyed a relatively wet winter and spring, setting the vines up with healthy soil moisture profiles for the ensuing growing season. Tasmania experienced clear and generally warm conditions from January onwards, with no extreme heat spells leading into harvest. The temperature only breached 35°C once in January, resulting in optimal conditions for ripening. Tumbarumba had plentiful rainfall right up to December, when a dry spell set in. In February, temperatures were generally cool allowing for slow, consistent ripening. The Adelaide Hills fruit-set was slightly above average. The region experienced a warm finish to the growing season, however well-developed canopies shielded the fruit from adversity and ensured the berries ripened evenly. Harvest was an orderly affair across the three regions, with chardonnay exhibiting outstanding varietal characteristics with bracing natural acidity.
The Penfolds Team
Key to the success of Penfolds has been a lineage of visionary winemakers. There have only ever been four Chief Winemakers at the helm of Penfolds – Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, each a custodian of a rich winemaking tradition that goes back for more than 170 years.
Our current Penfolds winemaking team has more than 100 years between them as Penfolds winemakers. They are constantly refining and improving their work, whilst honouring the winemaking techniques of their predecessors.