This was a hot and very early vintage, but the vineyard location in the cooler Karridale area has helped control the speed of ripening, and the result is a mighty impressive chardonnay. It’s a concentrated and immensely powerful wine with great depth on the palate after an opening engagement, showing aromas of light cashew and brioche. There is something quite Burgundian here with its dry savoury chalkiness providing line and length throughout the palate. An excellent wine that is only in its very early stages and needs at least another year to hit its straps.
96 POINTS
Kasia Sobiesiak - The Wine Front
Just had a thought while reviewing, that I don’t know if this note and/or score will qualify my first ever mention into the next year’s Chardonnay in Review by John Humphrey; one might be hopeful, definitely hopeful to taste more amazing Chardonnays in life, but the Review’s high-points ‘incentive’ is not why the wine in question scored what it did. The previous vintage of Allingham Chardonnay, 2023, just won a gold medal at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards, which equalled 96 points. I have not tasted the 2023 (why? I’m not sure), but this new 2024 release presents very well already. Nic Bowen has been the winemaker in charge at Howard Park since 2021, after 12 years at House of Arras, and I like his direction. This is a solid, classy Chardonnay. Elegance, for sure. Energy, yes. Oak, of course, but it’s smooth, it’s restrained, it lets the fruit shine. Even though it’s not impossible to enjoy this immediately, the concentration and structure look promising for this wine’s future. But for now, there’s almond meal and custard powder, vanilla bean ice cream that melts and honeyed nuts that crunch, kaffir lime leaf and grapefruit blossom, lemon tart with torched meringue, plenty of citrus and a firm nectarine. Texture is fine and detailed, powdery turns juicy load of flavour with a tight finish. There’s a blanc de blancs delicacy about it, almost as if it was touched by someone who made a lot of smart sparkling wine in life.
96 POINTS
Jeni Port - Winepilot
Earns a place at Margaret River’s Chardonnay top table such is the complexity and utterly undeniable beauty it brings to the glass. Offers a sunny, sea spray, beachy scent – textbook Margs gin gin clone – entwined with ripe stone fruits, just-cut white peach, citrus, biscuit spice, nougat and grilled cashew. The palate is brightly lit in summery fruits and then builds in depth and concentration and keeps building, introducing nutty, nougat notes with vanillin oak – so smart -in play. Runs smoothly, runs long, well-structured with acidity kicking in through the finish, clean and efficient. Lots to look forward to as it progresses over the years.
96 POINTS
Jane Faulkner - Halliday Wine Companion
A warmer vintage yet this comes across as cool, cooling and refined; still plenty of flavour though. Lemon and white peach, nougat studded with grilled nuts. Creamy, with a touch of honeycomb. The oak imparts flavour, for sure, but it is neatly integrated. The acidity is refreshing and drives this to a long finish, with just the right amount of phenolics to add more shape and depth. Very classy drink here, folks.
96 POINTS
Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast
Bright, appealing melon and citrus aromas are etched in salty seashell and subtle toasty nutty nuances. There's a core of minerality here that adds complexity. The palate is buoyed by vibrant acidity with juicy, fleshy fruit. There's length and persistency. It strikes a balance between being a serious age-worthy Chard and totally approachable now.
95 POINTS
Tom Kline - Winepilot
This shows its origins clearly from the cooler Karidale sub-region in Margaret River’s south. There’s a restrained, poised character here – quieter and more subtle than the louder Chardonnays further north. Sweet lime, gunflint, white grapefruit, and fine cedar bring immediate impact and class, underpinned by a subtle nougat substratum and a whisper of honey. With aeration, the fruit unfurls to reveal nectarine and white peach, followed by vanilla bean and lees-derived dough notes. Even aromatically, there’s abundant flavour wrapped in an elegant thread. The palate is equally restrained, with gorgeous texture. Dehydrated lime, grapefruit, nectarine, grilled nuts, and lemon peel are funneled through a firm line of saline acidity and chalk-laced phenolics, while cedar lingers in the mouth perfume. The length is lovely, though quietly carried. A classy release.
95 POINTS
Cassandra Charlick - Decanter
Pretty and rather delicate on the nose. Cooling florals, white jasmine, apple blossom, a little moss and snowdrop, with green apple, hints of pastry spice and a saline pinch. The palate is firm and taut yet pillowy, with layers of soft peachy silk. A lullaby of a wine, pretty, structural and serious all at once. Acidity is fine and taut, spiderweb-like rather than razor sharp. Malo softness, without being overly buttery. A pearly wine with length and complexity. From Gingin clone vines. Wild fermented and matured for 7-9 months in 25% new oak puncheons/barriques, plus 2-3 months in tank.
This has the unmistakable character of the Gingin clone with aromas of preserved lemons, grapefruit, flint, salted nuts and margarita. The palate is tightly wound yet with generous fruit concentration and a long, mineral-driven finish. Polished and refined, this is poised for early drinking now and for years to come.
