2026 Halliday Top Rated

The best chardonnay in Australia for 2026

By The Tasting Team

The Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2023 has been named the best chardonnay in Australia.

The Halliday Wine Companion Awards celebrate the top wines in Australia – as chosen by our esteemed wine critics who spend the year tasting and reviewing wine from across the country. Below, you'll find Australia's best chardonnays, along with the ratings awarded by the Tasting Team.

You might like to approach the below as you would a bucket list, as every wine acknowledged here forms the very apex of Australian chardonnay. Margaret River, Beechworth, Geelong, Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley, Macedon Ranges and many more – we grow this grape magnificently and remarkably well. This year we commend our Winemaker of the Year Virginia Willcock for her radiant Heytesbury Chardonnay, which subsequently went on to be crowned our White Wine of the Year with ease.

2026 Best Chardonnay of the Year in Australia

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2023, Margaret River

99 points (Panel decision*) | Price when tasted $140


Oakridge 864 Drive Block Funder & Diamond Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, Yarra Valley

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When it comes to the best of the best, provenance is paramount. And taste memory utmost, especially when tasting Heytesbury made under Virginia Willcock’s tutelage (in ’26 she clocks up 20 years as chief winemaker at Vasse Felix, during which time she has transformed chardonnay in the region and beyond). Her influence is here in this wine, and ’23 will be known as one of the finest. It's hard to explain because it’s still very tightly wound, yet it has depth and volume. Oscillating between power and refinement, intensity and pure drinking pleasure. Grapefruit, Meyer lemon, a crushed oyster shell note, flinty, moreish sulphides, texture, mouth-watering, pure acidity and so much more besides. Nothing else to say other than that this is outstanding. – Jane Faulkner

Learn more about chardonnay.

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The 2026 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide at all good bookstores.

This is an edited extract from the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Katrina Butler, Marcus Ellis, Mike Bennie, Philip Rich, Shanteh Wale and Toni Paterson MW. Cover art by James Coe.

*Panel decision – score awarded by the Halliday Tasting Team at the annual Awards judging.