Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2023

Tim Shand has made such a profound impact since taking over as winemaker in ‘22 and while it’s early days, gee what’s on offer looks very, very good. Vintage ‘23 is his first complete harvest. Already subtlety is apparent, although plenty of flavour here with stone fruit and citrus, wafts of lemon verbena and celery seed. It’s flinty, spicy and creamy with nutty lees. This is moreish and the savoury edge comes through in tandem with tangy and juicy acidity, and almost a pop of saline tang to finish. Impressive. (95) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion

One of the most common misconceptions in wine is that every wine is as absolutely good as it can be. Most wines, rather, are made to their price point, or to their position in the winery’s range of wines. I’m not sure if it’s relevant to point this out here – it may not be – but I loved it when winemaker Tim Shand said this week that he had re-positioned Voyager Chardonnay to simply be “the best wine that it can be. It’s seventy bucks and it has to be worth that, wringing wet, every day, every time.”

This is the best Voyager chardonnay in yonks. It’s all by degrees of course but every degree in wine is hard won. This wine has flavour and texture but it’s the length that gets you going. It shows smoke characters, grilled peach, lemon curd and a jasmine element. There are flint notes here, as a whisper – which is interesting, because Voyager Chardonnay generally doesn’t or hasn’t shown flint characters in the past. It works here. 2023 was Shand’s first full vintage in charge of Voyager’s winemaking and if this wine is an indication, we’re in for a ride. (95) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front