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James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge 2012 Results
(Follow this link for the 2012 James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge results)
Congratulations to Penfolds Wines for their 2008 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay being named Australia’s best chardonnay in the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge 2012.
| Winery | Wine | Vintage | Score | Region |
| Penfolds Wines | Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay | 2008 | 98 | Tasmania |
Top Pointed Regional Wines scoring 94+ points
Listing the highest scoring wines from the regions is intended to be a summary of the producers who are beating the drum the loudest for their respective areas by making excellent chardonnays. In time, we look forward to seeing which producers make the list most often, which regions consistently produce the most 94+ pointed wines, plus the regions and producers that take us all by surprise.
| Winery | Wine | Vintage | Score | Region |
| Penfolds Wines | Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay | 2008 | 98 | Tasmania |
| Coldstream Hills | Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay | 2010 | 97 | Yarra Valley |
| Yabby Lake Vineyard | Yabby Lake Single Block Release, Block 6 Chardonnay | 2010 | 97 | Mornington Peninsula |
| Fraser Gallop Estate | Parterre Chardonnay | 2011 | 97 | Margaret River |
| First Creek Winery | Winemakers Reserve | 2011 | 96 | Hunter |
| Eden Road Wines | Eden Road The Long Road Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Tumbarumba |
| Leura Park Estate | Leura Park Estate Block 1 Reserve Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Geelong |
| Penfolds Wines | Penfolds Cellar Reserve Chardonnay | 2010 | 96 | Adelaide Hills |
| Singlefile Wines | Family Reserve Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Great Southern |
Chairman’s 11
The Chairman’s 11 is an extension of the highest scoring wines from the regions, in which we invite the chair to add a small number of excellent wines, entirely at his discretion, to make a set of eleven. This group is not intended to distract from the ‘winner takes all’ approach of the Challenge, but rather, it will help us tell the Australian chardonnay story.
And why did we decide on 11, we hear you ask? Well, after much soul searching, we agreed that ‘form follows function’ – to show the world, we needed a set of benchmark wines that fitted neatly into a case!
This should be a dozen wines of which Australia can be immensely proud.
| Winery | Wine | Vintage | Score | Region |
| Coldstream Hills | Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay | 2010 | 97 | Yarra Valley |
| Fraser Gallop Estate | Parterre Chardonnay | 2011 | 97 | Margaret River |
| Yabby Lake Vineyard | Yabby Lake Single Block Release, Block 6 Chardonnay | 2010 | 97 | Mornington Peninsula |
| Oakridge Wines | Oakridge 864 Chardonnay – Funder and Diamond Vineyard, Drive Block | 2011 | 96 | Yarra Valley |
| Seville Estate | Seville Estate Reserve Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Yarra Valley |
| Flametree Wines | Flametree S.R.S. Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Margaret River |
| Leura Park Estate | Leura Park Estate Block 1 Reserve Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Geelong |
| Singlefile Wines | Family Reserve Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Great Southern |
| First Creek Winery | Winemakers Reserve | 2011 | 96 | Hunter |
| Eden Road Wines | Eden Road The Long Road Chardonnay | 2011 | 96 | Tumbarumba |
| Penfolds Wines | Penfolds Cellar Reserve Chardonnay | 2010 | 96 | Adelaide Hills |
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