Penfolds Yattarna is widely regarded as Australia’s most significant Chardonnay, an ambition the winery made explicit when they dubbed it the “White Grange” at its inaugural release in 1995. Like its famous red counterpart, Yattarna is built on a philosophy of multi-regional blending, drawing on Tasmania, the Adelaide Hills and other cool-climate sites each year in a composition determined by the demands of quality rather than consistency of origin. Chief winemaker Peter Gago leads the blending process alongside white winemaker Kym Schroeter, one of Australia’s most respected Chardonnay specialists.

The 2020 Yattarna is composed of 68% Tasmanian fruit with the remainder sourced from the Adelaide Hills, both planted predominantly to Bernard clones 95 and 96. This heavy Tasmanian influence gives the 2020 its characteristic precision and restraint: Tasmania’s extreme maritime coolness and long growing season produce fruit of intense natural acidity and phenolic focus, fundamentally different from the warmer mainland sources. The wine was aged in French oak, fermented natively, and was described by the Wine Advocate as “an exercise in floral restraint, streamlined power and palate-staining intensity of flavour… weightless, the power undeniable.”

The 2020 Yattarna achieved outstanding scores from the world’s leading critics: 98 points from the Wine Advocate, 96 from Decanter and 96 from James Suckling. Decanter described it as a wine whose “oak is strongly expressed” yet balanced by an “intense core of ripe-peach, grilled-lemon and nectarine fruit” delivered with “mouthwateringly intense” acidity. The 2020 continues Yattarna’s trajectory of critical acceptance alongside the finest Chardonnays of Australia and the world.