2024 Heroes Vineyard Anti Hero Coola Road Chardonnay

Mount Gambier Chardonnay Is One of Australia's Best-Kept Secrets

Another wine that shows why Heroes Vineyard and winemaker James Thomas deserve serious attention

93+ Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Mount Gambier, South Australia

RRP $37 a bottle

Here's another wine that shows why Heroes Vineyard and winemaker James Thomas deserve serious attention.

The 2024 Anti-Hero Coola Road Chardonnay comes from the Coola Road Vineyard in Mount Gambier, one of Australia's most exciting emerging cool-climate wine regions.

And the combination here is seriously compelling.

Mount Gambier fruit.
Shallow clay loam over limestone.
Whole-bunch pressed.
Wild fermented.
French oak hogsheads.
20% new oak.
12.8% alcohol.
Only 180 cases produced.

Then there's the review:

At RRP $37, this is a beautifully made, genuinely small-production Chardonnay that massively over-delivers.

93+ Points – Halliday Wine Companion

93+ Points – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion

Rich found a bright, beautifully composed Chardonnay combining stone fruit and honeysuckle with a subtle struck-match character, before moving into a balanced, structured and saline palate.

He also singled it out as a wine that is both well made and very well priced, with the potential to reward another three to five years in the cellar.

That last part is important.

At $37, this isn't merely a Chardonnay made for immediate drinking.

There's enough structure and acidity here to evolve.

Tasting Notes

Expect a beautifully modern cool-climate Chardonnay showing:

• White peach
• Nectarine
• Stone fruit
• Honeysuckle
• Lemon
• Citrus peel
• Roasted almond
• Subtle struck match
• Fine French oak
• Mineral notes
• Saline acidity
• Long, savoury finish

There's a lovely interplay between ripe stone fruit and savoury complexity.

The fruit gives the wine generosity, while the subtle struck-match and nutty characters bring another dimension.

Then comes that saline finish.

Fresh.

Structured.

Persistent.

This isn't big, buttery Chardonnay.

It's modern Australian Chardonnay built around fruit, texture, acidity and restraint.

Welcome to Mount Gambier

Mount Gambier is rapidly becoming one of Australia's most exciting Chardonnay regions.

And it's not difficult to understand why.

The region sits in the far south-east of South Australia, surrounded by the influence of the Southern Ocean.

Heroes describes all of its Anti-Hero vineyard sources as cool-climate sites with maritime influence from the Southern Ocean.

That matters enormously for Chardonnay.

Slow ripening allows flavour to develop while retaining the natural acidity that gives Chardonnay its:

Freshness • Tension • Precision • Ageing potential

It's a very different proposition from warmer South Australian Chardonnay.

Coola Road – Clay Loam, Flint & Limestone

Then we get to the vineyard.

The fruit comes from:

Coola Road Vineyard – Mount Gambier

The Chardonnay grows in:

Shallow clay loams

littered with:

Flint rocks

over:

Limestone.

That's a seriously interesting site for Chardonnay.

Cool climate.

Maritime influence.

Clay.

Flint.

Limestone.

You couldn't design a much more enticing combination for Chardonnay.

And while it's too simplistic to claim limestone directly creates a particular flavour, the site's geology, climate and drainage form an important part of the wine's identity.

A Vineyard with History

Coola Road isn't a new vineyard planted yesterday to take advantage of Mount Gambier's growing reputation.

The Ellis family has owned the Coola grazing property for more than 160 years, with vineyard plantings beginning in the late 1990s. The site subsequently expanded beyond Pinot Noir to include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Gris.

Heroes' James Thomas sources Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Coola Road for his Anti-Hero range.

That's exactly what Anti-Hero is about:

Finding interesting cool-climate vineyards and allowing those sites to speak.

Whole-Bunch Pressed

The 2024 Chardonnay was harvested on:

8 March 2024

at:

11.8 Baumé.

The fruit was then:

Whole-bunch pressed.

That's a significant detail.

Whole-bunch pressing is widely used in high-quality Chardonnay production because it allows relatively gentle extraction of juice from the grapes.

The aim isn't to make a massive wine.

It's about preserving:

Purity • Freshness • Fine texture • Acidity

And those characteristics come through beautifully here.

Wild Fermented

The juice then undergoes:

Wild fermentation

rather than relying on selected cultured yeast.

And importantly, fermentation happens directly in:

French oak hogsheads.

This is where the texture starts to build.

Barrel fermentation gives Chardonnay additional complexity and palate weight, while spontaneous fermentation can add another dimension of savoury character.

But the key is restraint.

Nothing here overwhelms the fruit.

French Oak – Only 20% New

The 2024 was fermented and matured in:

French oak hogsheads

with just:

20% new oak.

That's beautifully judged.

There's enough new oak to add complexity and structure.

But not enough to bury the Chardonnay under vanilla, toast and wood.

The result keeps the focus firmly on:

Stone Fruit • Honeysuckle • Citrus • Mineral Character • Salinity

with the oak playing a supporting role.

Exactly where it belongs.

Just 12.8% Alcohol

Here's another detail I love:

12.8% alcohol.

That's a clue to the style.

This isn't Chardonnay built through enormous ripeness.

The cool Mount Gambier climate allows flavour to develop without pushing alcohol levels unnecessarily high.

The result is Chardonnay with energy and drinkability.

There's enough weight to satisfy Chardonnay drinkers who want some generosity, but there's freshness underneath to keep you coming back to the glass.

Bottled Without Fining

The wine was also bottled:

Without fining.

Again, that tells you something about James Thomas' approach.

There's minimal unnecessary intervention.

The emphasis is on preserving the vineyard and the personality of the wine rather than polishing everything into anonymity.

Heroes describes its winemaking philosophy around three key ideas:

Restraint. Precision. Age-worthiness.

Those three words describe this Chardonnay beautifully.

Only 180 Cases Made

And here's the catch.

Production was just:

180 cases.

That's tiny.

This isn't Chardonnay being produced in enormous commercial quantities.

It's a genuinely small-production wine sourced from a specific Mount Gambier vineyard and made with serious attention to detail.

At an RRP of only $37, that makes the wine even more interesting.

James Thomas & The Anti-Hero Project

The Anti-Hero wines give James Thomas the opportunity to step outside his own Heroes vineyard in the Otway Hinterland and work with other interesting cool-climate sites.

The current Anti-Hero sources include:

Yeowarra Hill – Otway Hinterland

Coola Road – Mount Gambier

Cobboboonee – Henty

Heroes notes that these vineyards share an important characteristic: they're all cool-climate sites influenced by the Southern Ocean.

And Halliday reviewer Philip Rich specifically praised the Anti-Hero project, noting that Thomas brings the same level of detail and care to these well-priced wines as he does to the flagship Heroes range.

That's what makes these wines such smart buying.

Halliday Says Heroes Is One to Watch

If you're wondering why we're getting excited about this producer, look at the scores across the 2024 range:

2024 Heroes Pinot Noir – 97 Points Halliday

2024 Heroes Chardonnay – 96 Points Halliday

2024 Heroes Dry Riesling – 95+ Points Halliday

2024 Heroes Sauvignon Blanc – 95 Points Halliday

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

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay – 94 Points Halliday

2024 Anti-Hero Coola Road Chardonnay – 93+ Points Halliday

That's not one lucky wine.

That's an extraordinary range.

Philip Rich said he was blown away by the 2024 Heroes wines and identified James Thomas as a producer worth watching.

Coola Road vs Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay

Here's a fantastic tasting to do.

James Thomas makes two Anti-Hero Chardonnays from two completely different cool-climate regions.

2024 Anti-Hero Coola Road Chardonnay – Mount Gambier

93+ Points Halliday

Stone Fruit • Honeysuckle • Struck Match • Salinity • Fine Oak

Shallow clay loam + flint over limestone
20% new French oak
12.8% alcohol
180 cases produced

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay – Otway Hinterland

94 Points Halliday

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

Two cool-climate sites.

Same winemaker.

Same vintage.

Two very different expressions of Chardonnay.

That's what makes the Anti-Hero project so fascinating.

Serious Chardonnay for $37

And this is where the Coola Road Chardonnay becomes very difficult to ignore.

Look at what you're getting:

Mount Gambier fruit.

Specific vineyard.

Limestone soils.

Whole-bunch pressing.

Wild fermentation.

French oak hogsheads.

20% new oak.

No fining.

180 cases.

93+ Halliday points.

And the RRP?

$37.

That's seriously smart buying.

Food Pairings

This would be superb with:

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

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

The wine's stone fruit, struck-match complexity and saline finish would work beautifully with seafood.

Serve at around 10–12°C rather than refrigerator cold.

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

Drinking & Cellaring

Philip Rich believes it's ready to drink now but should reward another:

3–5 years in the cellar.

I'd suggest:

Drink now–2030+.

Young, you'll get more of the:

Stone Fruit • Honeysuckle • Citrus • Salinity

As it develops, expect more:

Roasted Nuts • Toast • Savoury Complexity

to emerge.

At $37, I'd buy enough to do both.

Why We Love It

This is exactly the sort of wine we love finding.

Not expensive.

Not mass-produced.

Not from one of the obvious Chardonnay regions.

Just seriously good wine from a fascinating vineyard.

Look at the package:

🔥 93+ Points – Halliday Wine Companion
Coola Road Vineyard – Mount Gambier
Clay Loam + Flint over Limestone
Whole-Bunch Pressed
Wild Fermented
French Oak Hogsheads
20% New Oak
Bottled Without Fining
12.8% Alcohol
Only 180 Cases Produced

And your RRP?

$37.

The flavour profile gives you stone fruit, honeysuckle and subtle struck match, with a beautifully balanced, structured and saline palate.

If you love modern Australian Chardonnay from Mount Gambier, Geelong, the Yarra Valley or Tasmania, this is exactly the sort of under-the-radar bottle worth discovering.

93+ Halliday. Mount Gambier. Limestone. Wild fermented. Only 180 cases. $37 RRP.

The 2024 Heroes Anti-Hero Coola Road Chardonnay is seriously impressive value.