Mystery Yarra Valley ‘young guns’ Chardonnay 2024. Made by a young gun. Should Sell $25, Yours Without A Label For $12. 

Every now and then we get our hands on something pretty special. When wineries have a bumper harvest, they often find themselves with more premium juice than they can fit under their own label. Rather than letting it go to waste, they release it as a cleanskin. The quality is every bit as good as the labelled wine the only difference is this one comes without the label.

 

It’s not often you see Burgundy and Chablis mentioned in the same sentence as a $12 bottle, but that’s exactly the case with this week’s release. We’ve secured an unlabelled Yarra Valley Chardonnay from the outstanding 2023 vintage, crafted by one of Australia’s most talented young winemakers. His estate Chardonnay was recently ranked among the Top 10 Australian Chardonnays under $90, and critics like James Halliday who called him a “Chardonnay master”, Jane Faulkner, Nick Stock, Gary Walsh, Mike Bennie and Campbell Mattinson have all praised the quality of his wines. With accolades like that, it’s no surprise this drop has quickly become known as the Unlabelled Yarra Valley ‘Rising Star’ Chardonnay 2023.

 

What makes this offer so exciting is that it comes from his declassified fruit wine that didn’t make it into the winemaker’s own label but still carries all the hallmarks of top-shelf Yarra Chardonnay. Think matchstick and flinty notes, bright grapefruit, a touch of fennel and a long, layered finish. 2023 was a stellar vintage in the Valley, and this wine easily holds its own against many $25 Chardonnays on the market today. At just $12 a bottle, it’s an epic buy from a winemaker already stacking up trophies and gold medals for his labelled releases.