2024 Heroes Vineyard Anti Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay

One of Victoria's Most Exciting Chardonnay Producers – Without the Price Tag

a beautifully expressive cool-climate Chardonnay

94 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Otway Hinterland, Victoria

RRP $43 a bottle

If you've discovered Heroes Vineyard, you'll already know why there's suddenly so much excitement around this tiny Otway Hinterland producer.

The 2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay is another reason.

It comes from the small Yeowarra Hill Vineyard, a mature, dry-grown site in Victoria's extraordinarily cool Otway Hinterland that is now managed by Heroes' James Thomas.

The vineyard was planted in 1998–99, is just four acres in size and is grown on sandy loam soils without irrigation. The 2024 Chardonnay was whole-bunch pressed and fermented in French oak hogsheads, with 30% new oak. Production was just 130 dozen.

And Halliday Wine Companion awarded it:

94 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

At $43 RRP, this is exactly the sort of small-production Victorian Chardonnay worth discovering before everyone else does.

94 Points – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion

Rich describes a luminous green-gold Chardonnay with an expressive combination of yellow fruits, grilled walnuts and marine characters.

The palate has genuine weight and intensity, but crucially, that richness is balanced by bright acidity, before finishing long and saline.

That's an important distinction.

This isn't skinny, acidic Chardonnay.

Nor is it an old-fashioned, heavily oaked blockbuster.

It has fruit intensity and texture, but there's enough acidity and salinity underneath to keep everything fresh and beautifully composed.

Tasting Notes

Expect a beautifully expressive cool-climate Chardonnay showing:

• Yellow peach
• White nectarine
• Citrus
• Lemon zest
• Yellow apple
• Grilled walnuts
• Roasted nuts
• Subtle French oak
• Marine notes
• Sea spray
• Saline minerality
• Fine acidity
• Long savoury finish

The fruit is generous, but what makes the wine particularly interesting is everything surrounding it.

Nuts. Oak. Marine characters. Salt. Acidity.

There's richness through the middle of the palate without any sense of heaviness.

It's Chardonnay with weight and energy at the same time.

Yeowarra Hill Vineyard – A Tiny Four-Acre Site

This isn't anonymous regional Chardonnay.

The fruit comes from the Yeowarra Hill Vineyard in the Otway Hinterland.

The site was planted around 1998–99 to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and totals only around four acres.

And importantly:

The vines are grown without irrigation.

That's a significant part of the story.

These are mature vines that have had years to establish themselves in the site rather than relying on regular irrigation.

And in the cool, maritime-influenced environment of the Otway Hinterland, that creates some seriously interesting raw material.

Sandy Loams + Otway Hinterland

Heroes describes the Yeowarra Hill site as having sandy loam soils, while its broader vineyard information identifies the local geology as tertiary sandstone and siltstone with sandy clay loams over clay and weathered sandstone.

It's a fascinating environment for Chardonnay.

The Otway Hinterland is cool.

Very cool.

And its proximity to the Southern Ocean gives the area a strong maritime influence. Heroes specifically identifies each of its Anti-Hero vineyard sources as cool-climate and maritime influenced by the Southern Ocean.

That allows Chardonnay to develop flavour without sacrificing the natural acidity essential to great Chardonnay.

Whole-Bunch Pressed

The 2024 was picked on:

22 March 2024

and then:

Whole-bunch pressed.

That's exactly the sort of detail Chardonnay lovers should pay attention to.

Whole-bunch pressing allows the fruit to be pressed gently, producing juice that can retain beautiful purity and freshness.

From there, James Thomas moves the wine into French oak.

French Oak Hogsheads – 30% New

The 2024 was fermented in:

French oak hogsheads

with:

30% new oak.

That larger hogshead format is important.

The wine gets the texture and complexity of barrel fermentation without being overwhelmed by new oak.

And at only 30% new wood, the oak remains part of the wine rather than becoming the wine.

That's why the tasting profile still revolves around:

Yellow fruit • Citrus • Nuts • Marine notes • Salinity

rather than vanilla and toast.

Chardonnay with a Saline Edge

This might be my favourite part of the wine.

Halliday's review specifically identifies marine aromas and a saline finish.

That's a wonderful combination with Chardonnay.

You get the richness of yellow fruit and grilled walnut through the middle of the palate, then the acidity and salty character tighten everything up through the finish.

It makes the wine feel simultaneously:

Generous and precise.

Textural and refreshing.

Powerful and controlled.

And that's a very attractive place for modern Australian Chardonnay to sit.

Only 130 Dozen Made

Now we get to the catch.

Production was only:

130 dozen.

That's approximately 1,560 bottles.

In wine-production terms, that's tiny.

This isn't Chardonnay made by the truckload and distributed through every major retailer in Australia.

It's small-production wine from a four-acre vineyard being managed by one of the most interesting winemakers working in this part of Victoria.

James Thomas – One to Watch

The man behind Heroes is James Thomas.

Before establishing Heroes, the British-born Thomas worked as assistant winemaker at Bannockburn Vineyards and later as head winemaker at Clyde Park.

That's serious Geelong Chardonnay and Pinot Noir experience.

In 2016, he discovered the mature vineyard that would become Heroes, located in the Otways between the Geelong and Henty GIs.

He and his wife Eloise took a long-term lease on the vineyard and named it Heroes, inspired by David Bowie's anthem.

Today, Thomas not only produces the estate-grown Heroes wines but manages Yeowarra Hill for his Anti-Hero range.

Halliday Says Heroes Is “One to Watch”

And here's why I'm particularly excited about these wines.

Halliday Wine Companion recently profiled James Thomas as an “Unsung Hero”, with reviewer Philip Rich saying he was blown away by the entire range of 2024 Heroes wines.

Look at the scores across the range:

2024 Heroes Pinot Noir – 97 Points

2024 Heroes Chardonnay – 96 Points

2024 Heroes Dry Riesling – 95+ Points

2024 Heroes Sauvignon Blanc – 95 Points

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Pinot Noir – 95+ Points

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay – 94 Points

That's an extraordinary strike rate.

This isn't one wine getting lucky.

There's serious quality right across the range.

Heroes Chardonnay vs Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay

This is a brilliant pair to taste side-by-side.

2024 Heroes Vineyard Chardonnay

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Original Heroes Vineyard

White Nectarine • Quince • Beeswax • Grilled Nuts • Intensity • Fine Acidity

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay

94 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Yeowarra Hill Vineyard

Yellow Fruit • Grilled Walnut • Marine Notes • Salinity • Bright Acidity

They're not intended to taste identical.

That's the point.

The Heroes Chardonnay expresses the original estate vineyard.

The Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay gives you another Otway Hinterland site interpreted through James Thomas' winemaking.

And the Anti-Hero does it at a substantially more approachable price.

This Is Where Anti-Hero Gets Really Interesting

Heroes explains that the flagship wines come exclusively from its original 10-acre vineyard, while the Anti-Hero range is made from fruit sourced from other outstanding vineyards that Thomas manages or buys from.

And Halliday's Philip Rich makes an important point:

Thomas gives the Anti-Hero wines the same level of detail and care as his flagship wines.

That's exactly what makes this wine so compelling.

You're accessing the winemaking talent behind the 96-point Heroes Chardonnay, but from another excellent vineyard and at a considerably lower price.

At RRP $43, that's serious value.

Food Pairings

This is a fantastic food Chardonnay.

Try it with:

• King George whiting
• Seared scallops
• Grilled prawns
• Lobster
• Roast chicken
• Pork belly
• Mushroom risotto
• Seafood pasta
• Grilled snapper
• Comté
• Gruyère
• Roast cauliflower

I'd go straight for King George whiting or seared scallops.

The combination of yellow fruit, grilled nuts, acidity and saline character would be brilliant with seafood.

Serve at around 10–12°C.

And don't serve it freezing cold.

Give it a decent Chardonnay glass and allow it to open.

Drinking & Cellaring

This is already delicious.

There's enough fruit and texture to make it immediately appealing, but the combination of bright acidity, barrel fermentation and savoury complexity should allow it to develop beautifully.

I'd suggest:

Drink now–2031+.

Young, you'll get more:

Yellow Fruit • Citrus • Salinity • Freshness

As it develops, expect:

Grilled Nuts • Toast • Beeswax • Savoury Complexity

to become increasingly prominent.

Why We Love It

This is another brilliant discovery from Heroes Vineyard.

Look at what you're getting:

94 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
Single-Vineyard Chardonnay
Yeowarra Hill Vineyard
Four-Acre Site
Mature Vines – Planted 1998–99
Dry Grown
Whole-Bunch Pressed
French Oak Hogsheads
30% New Oak
Only 130 Dozen Produced

And your RRP?

$43.

That's the killer.

Halliday describes a wine with yellow fruits, grilled walnut and marine characters, a mouth-filling palate, bright acidity and a long saline finish.

And it's being made by James Thomas, whose extraordinary 2024 range prompted Halliday's Philip Rich to identify Heroes as a producer very much “one to watch.”

If you love modern cool-climate Chardonnay from Bannockburn, By Farr, Lethbridge, Bicknell FC or other top Victorian producers, this is exactly the sort of under-the-radar wine worth discovering.

94 Halliday. Mature dry-grown vineyard. Whole-bunch pressed. French oak fermented. Tiny production. $43 RRP.

The 2024 Heroes Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay is seriously smart buying.