2024 Stargazer Chardonnay
2024 Stargazer Chardonnay

2024 Stargazer Chardonnay

96 pts
Stargazer |Tasmania |Chardonnay
Tightly wound premium Chardonnay from the Coal River Valley.
5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
2 Reviews
Price:
$70.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

Sam Connew doesn’t do anything by halves. Between tending her Palisander vineyard in the Coal River Valley and juggling fruit from trusted growers in the Derwent and Richmond, she’s carved out a reputation as one of Tasmania’s sharpest voices on Chardonnay. And the 2024 might just be her finest yet.

The season brought a welcome shift from the cooler La Niña years, delivering fruit with both ripeness and zip. Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented wild in 500L French oak (20% new), the wine was left alone in barrel - no stirring, no fuss - before a short rest in tank ahead of bottling. It’s an approach that’s all about precision and trust in the fruit.

In the glass, it’s lithe and layered. Lemon peel and white peach take the lead, with subtle pastry and cashew notes from oak, and just a flicker of flint to keep things tight. The palate has generosity without weight, stonefruit and almond characters carried long on a line of briny acidity. There’s a quiet confidence to it - everything in balance, nothing forced.

Made in small quantities, this is a Tassie Chardonnay that captures both Sam’s touch and the best of the 2024 season. Cellar it if you can, but good luck resisting it now.

96 points
"This flint-struck wine from Samantha Connew pushes all my buttons."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

Dave Brookes

Dave Brookes

Halliday Wine Companion 96 Points

This flint-struck wine from Samantha Connew pushes all my buttons. It's chalky and fruit-pure with wisps of struck-match that slowly make their way through the ripe stone and citrus fruits. This is followed by a swell of soft spice, crushed stone, meadow flowers and almond paste. It's tautly stretched, dry and savoury, with a long, linear draw across the palate. Finishes focused and true with background tones of grilled hazelnut, crème fraîche and soft spice.

Customer Reviews

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
Based on 2 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 2 Total 4 star reviews: 0 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
2 reviews
  • JL
    jo l.
    Verified Buyer
    1 year ago
    Reviewing
    2023 Stargazer Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Lovely Chardonnay

    Great length and good minerality.Well balanced.

    Was this helpful?
  • PH
    Peter H.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    6 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Reviewing
    2020 Stargazer Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Stargazer Chardonnay

    Introduced to this wonderful wine at Aubergine (Restaurant) in Canberra. Since then have bought wherever I can. Vineyard sold out but got some additional cases through Qantas Wine. Have to guard it from my children.

    Was this helpful?

Samantha’s best ever Chardonnay? In my mind yes, but I leave you to decide. 2024 growing season a contrast to the three prior cooler/wetter La Nina seasons and this wine is just singing already. Shall be putting some straight to the pool room….

Stargazer use fruit from their own Palisander vineyard in Coal River Valley + sourced from a growers in the Upper Derwent Valley and Richmond. The Stargazer plot was planted in 2017, south facing and is primarily brown dermosol on Jurassic dolerite.

Hand picked, whole bunch pressed directly to oak for fermentation. 100% wild ferment in 500L French oak (Mercurey), 20% new. Full malolactic. No lees stirring, left in barrel for 8 months, the blended in tank for 6 weeks before bottling.

“Pale straw in colour, on the nose it is all bright fresh lemon peel and ripe white peaches. Custard pastry and cashew nuts with subtle flinty layer add a secondary layer under the primary fruit. The generous stonefruit upfront on the palate is framed by judicious use of oak, with long flavours of almonds and honeycomb finishing with a pink sea salt briny drive.” – Samantha Connew – owner + winemaker

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Tasmania
Australian State TAS
Feature Women in Wine
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 96
Alcohol 12.5%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Stargazer

Stargazer is the pint-sized Tasmanian passion project of the talented Samantha Connew. Sam is one of the country's most respected wine judges and a greatly influential voice in the Australian wine industry. Stargazer is her one-woman show, focused around Sam's small, beautiful vineyard works in the Coal River Valley.

She only makes tiny parcels of a few wines. Riesling (and Riesling Blends), Chardonnay & Pinot Noir are her chosen varieties. The quality is outstanding across each and every wine and they rightfully sell out in next to no time each year.

The Stargazer range is a set of beautiful, ethereal representations of the Apple Isle.

Samantha Connew in her Vineyard Discover Stargazer

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Common Questions

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.

No sorry we do not have a store front and pickup is not available.

Yes, no problem. When placing your order select ‘Store at Different Drop and Delivery Later’ as your shipping method or reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order with additional instructions.

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.

 

Our warehouse is automated so unless you tell us otherwise, we will ship your order. If you would like us to hold your order please reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order and we are happy to store your order for up to 6 months at no charge. You can review our heat policy here.

Yes, of course. We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. You can see our price match policy here.

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.

No, all prices are set at the full discounted dozen rate already.

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.

Need a hand?

We’d love to help you out! Most questions can be sorted quickly through our Help Centre or by dropping us a line on chat or email. If it’s something urgent or you just really want to have a yarn about wine, food, or even the meaning of life, give us a call — we’re here for you.

Regular Enquiries

hello@differentdrop.com

Urgent Enquiries

02 8376 8775