2024 Dappled Appellation Chardonnay

Delicious, full-flavoured yet perfectly poised Yarra Valley Chardonnay. One of the best buys in the region.
4.4
Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars
5 Reviews

Price:
Sale price$45.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

Shaun Crinion’s Appellation Chardonnay has quietly built a cult following as one of Australia’s best-value Chardonnays. The 2024 vintage is yet another feather in the cap - complex, classy and seriously good drinking for the price.

Sourced from a clever mix of upper and lower Yarra Valley sites — Macclesfield, Steels Creek, Seville and St Andrews — Shaun blends fruit from multiple clones (P58, I10V1, Dijon 76 & 95) to capture a complete picture of the region. The fruit is hand-picked, foot-crushed, gently pressed and wild fermented in a mix of old and new French oak. No stirring, no tricks, just careful, considered winemaking.

In the glass, it’s all white peach, lemon pith, cashew and struck flint. The palate strikes that sweet spot between texture and tension, finishing with a fine grapefruit snap that gives it real drive.

Elegant, balanced and sophisticated - this is modern Yarra Chardonnay with all the finesse and none of the fuss. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

94+ points
"White peach, toasted hazelnuts, a light smoky struck match... pink grapefruit tang, a firm chalky grip to texture... complex. Tightly-coiled."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

94+ points - "There’s still a little bit left at cellar door, I see, and some at assorted retailers, so for once the review is timely. Not least because I jumped on a bottle for review via Different Drop yesterday. Also, what a good track record this wine has – HERE – which is all CM’s work, admittedly; his appellation is the Prince of Dappled. White peach, toasted hazelnuts, a light smoky struck match, lemon oil, mint and chamomile. It’s savoury and saline, quite umami in flavour, pink grapefruit tang, a firm chalky grip to texture, lemon zest and green olive on a finish of quite some zip and length. Complex. Tightly-coiled. Likely better again in a year or two. Excellent." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

4.4
Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars
Based on 5 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 2 Total 4 star reviews: 3 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
5 reviews
  • SD
    Sharon D.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    1 year ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Reviewing
    2022 Dappled Appellation Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    We fight over this one.

    Modern elegant Chardonnay. My favourite. His too.

  • R
    Ryan
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    4 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Reviewing
    2022 Dappled Appellation Chardonnay
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Entry level Yarra benchmark

    Brilliant textured wine, setting a benchmark for entry level wines. Struck match, Flint is the first thing you notice before picking up the butter, almond meal, apple, pear. It’s like a fresh baked apple pie. Nice dash of citrus acidity rounds out the balance. Perfect wine for any occasion and an absolute steal at $30

  • EB
    Elinor B.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    4 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    Reviewing
    2022 Dappled Appellation Chardonnay
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Dappled chardonnay

    Delicious. Balanced lovely nose great flinty struck match. Very easy to drink ....

A blend of upper and lower Yarra Vineyards - Clones P58, I10V1 and Dijon clones 76 and 95 - from vineyards in St Andrews, Macclesfield, Steels Creek and Seville. All fruit is hand-picked and cooled overnight, followed by whole bunches being lightly crushed by foot before a long pressing when the un-sulphured juice is transferred straight to oak. The oak is a combination of 80% old and 20% new French Barriques, Puncheons and Demi-Muids. Ferments are allowed to start naturally (wild) and complete with no temperature control. The wine is not battonaged and left on lees for 10 months where some MLF may have occurred, but not encouraged, and SO2 is added when the wine is ready for it. The wine is lightly filtered before being bottled un-fined.

Tasting Notes:
Pale yellow in colour with a green hue, with aromas of white peach, citrus blossom, grilled cashew and toast - this is classic Yarra Valley Chardonnay! The palate shows delicious stone fruit flavours with texture and fullness. It’s all underpinned with a laser sharp pink grapefruit acid line, delivering an overall delicate, long and flavoursome wine. This will develop well into 5-8 years. Reminiscent of my 2018 Appellation Chardonnay.

Price Bracket $41 to $50
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Yarra Valley
Australian State VIC
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Critic Score 94
Alcohol 13%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Dappled Wines

Dappled owner/winemaker Shaun Crinion has a mountain of winemaking experience from around the globe, culminating with the establishment of a label all of his own.

Shaun's focus is on expressing the sub-regionality of the Yarra Valley through simply gorgeous Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and a growing range of experimental wines.

With the combination of Shaun's A-grade fruit from the Yarra's top growers and his precise, astute winemaking, the value on offer in the Dappled range is second to none.

He was James Halliday's Best New Winery in 2018. The wines have only stepped in quality since then though the modest pricing remains the same. Unsurprisingly, his wines sell out in short order each year. He's now regarded as one of the best small-scale producers in the modern Yarra Valley.

Winemaker Shaun Crinion - Yarra Valley, VIC Dappled Wines

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Shipping

Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you. 

Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.

Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.

Ordering

We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.

Some things to keep in mind: 

  • Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
  • The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
  • We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
  • We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
  • It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.  
  • It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.

We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.

At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Call Us

Send a message