Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay 2022

This is where things get serious for Orange – Chardonnay is a style of excellence here. One of the region’s earliest plantings is the Balmoral vineyard at an elevation of 1050 metres, famed for the great Rosemount chardonnays of the 1990s. Mrs Payten is Tom’s grandmother, with this wine first released in 2012 to commemorate her 90th birthday.

The Chardonnay style spectrum runs between tight, racy and flinty to richer, creamier and more worked – here’s the ‘why not both’ option.  A fleshy, cashewy texture sits as a counterpoint to fresh acid tension from its high-grown aspect.  Lemon, grapefruit and white peach flavours at the core over a pleasing flintiness.  Refreshing, moreish, arguably the best all rounder, most crowd pleasing Chardy going.