Franca's Vineyard Chardonnay 2025
$22, 12.5% alcohol, screwcap, South Eastern Australia.
Flavours are on point here. Yellow peach and nectarine, pear and citrus flavours swing through the palate in fresh-faced style, satisfying as they flow. This is an uncomplicated wine, crisp and refreshing, with sound varietal character and a gently savoury finish. 89 points.
This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of both the highly respected The Winefront site (founded 2002) and Mattinson Photography.
Mattinson has been an independent wine critic and photo-journalist since 1987. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the prized Best Australian Sports Writing Award.
Mattinson, who is 100% independent, puts a score out of 100 on every wine that he reviews. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.
