This is where the Heroes story goes to another level.

One of the coolest and most fascinating viticultural pockets in Victoria.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
94 Points – The Wine Front
94 Points – The R Review

Otway Hinterland, Victoria

RRP $66 a bottle

The Chardonnay That Shows Just How Serious Heroes Vineyard Is

This is where the Heroes story goes to another level.

The 2024 Heroes Vineyard Otway Hinterland Chardonnay is the flagship Chardonnay from James Thomas' original 10-acre Heroes Vineyard, hidden away near Birregurra in one of the coolest and most fascinating viticultural pockets in Victoria.

And the reviews tell the story:

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
94 Points – The Wine Front
94 Points – The R Review

But the numbers only tell part of it.

This is Chardonnay from an unirrigated, mature vineyard, cropped at an incredibly low 1kg of fruit per vine, whole-bunch pressed, wild fermented and matured for 10 months entirely in second-fill French oak.

No new oak whatsoever.

And only:

90 cases made.

That's just 1,080 bottles.

Heroes' own technical information confirms the tiny production, 12.9% alcohol and remarkably low yield.

At RRP $66, this is serious small-production Australian Chardonnay.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

96 Points – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion

Rich's review captures exactly what makes this wine special.

There's real fruit intensity here.

But there's also enough natural acidity and structure to keep everything beautifully taut.

Power without heaviness.

Texture without flabbiness.

Oak without obvious oak flavour.

That's sophisticated Chardonnay.

94 Points – The Wine Front

94 Points – The Wine Front

That second major review reinforces the point:

This isn't simply an obscure vineyard receiving one big Halliday score.

There is serious quality here.

94 Points – The R Review

Add another:

94 Points – The R Review

and you have an impressive consensus around the 2024.

96 Halliday.

94 Wine Front.

94 R Review.

For a producer that Halliday itself recently described as having flown under the radar for years, that's a pretty serious set of numbers.

Tasting Notes

The 2024 is beautifully complex and textural, showing layers of:

• White nectarine
• Quince
• White peach
• Lemon
• Citrus rind
• Beeswax
• Grilled nuts
• Pine nuts
• Oyster shell
• Subtle toast
• Fine savoury notes
• Mineral complexity
• Fine natural acidity
• Long, persistent finish

The fruit has genuine presence.

Nectarine and quince form the core, while beeswax and grilled nuts bring a wonderful savoury complexity.

There's also a beautifully restrained mineral and saline quality running underneath everything.

The result is Chardonnay that's simultaneously:

Generous. Taut. Textural. Savoury. Precise.

And most importantly:

Interesting.

The Original Heroes Vineyard

This is important.

Heroes produces two distinct ranges.

The Anti-Hero wines come from other carefully selected cool-climate vineyards in the Otway Hinterland, Mount Gambier and Henty.

But the flagship:

Heroes Vineyard wines

come exclusively from the original 10-acre Otway Hinterland vineyard.

This Chardonnay is one of those wines.

It's the vineyard James Thomas discovered in 2016 and believed was special enough to build an entire wine project around.

And today it produces the two flagship Heroes wines:

Heroes Vineyard Chardonnay

and

Heroes Vineyard Pinot Noir.

The 2024 Pinot received an extraordinary 97 Halliday points.

The Chardonnay received 96.

That's a serious vineyard.

Unirrigated – And Tiny Yields

One of the things that makes Heroes particularly interesting is the vineyard itself.

The original Heroes vineyard is unirrigated, and Halliday's Philip Rich notes how impressed James Thomas was by the natural balance of the vines when he first encountered the property.

And then look at the yield for this Chardonnay.

The 2024 produced only:

1kg of Chardonnay per vine

equivalent to approximately:

1.2 tonnes per acre.

That's tiny.

For perspective, this isn't a vineyard being pushed for volume.

The vines are producing very small amounts of fruit.

And you can see that concentration in the wine.

Halliday specifically comments on its weight and intensity.

Sandstone, Siltstone & Sandy Clay

The vineyard's geology is equally fascinating.

The Chardonnay grows in:

Tertiary sandstone and siltstone

with:

Sandy clay loams

over:

Highly penetrable clay and weathered sandstone.

That combination, together with the cool climate and tiny yields, gives James Thomas some remarkable raw material to work with.

And rather than smothering that fruit with winemaking, he takes a remarkably restrained approach.

The Otway Hinterland – Seriously Cool Wine Country

The vineyard sits in the Otway Hinterland near Birregurra, outside the traditional Geelong wine heartland.

And the climate is fascinating.

Halliday's Philip Rich describes Heroes as sitting in the foothills of the Otway National Park, with the area substantially influenced by the surrounding hills and cool conditions.

This isn't the sort of environment where Chardonnay races towards ripeness.

The fruit develops slowly.

That means flavour can build while natural acidity remains intact.

And that's exactly what you're seeing in the 2024.

12.9% alcohol.

Yet plenty of fruit intensity.

That's the sweet spot.

Whole-Bunch Pressed

The 2024 Chardonnay was harvested on:

7 March 2024

and then:

Whole-bunch pressed.

That's a classic fine-Chardonnay technique.

Rather than crushing the grapes aggressively before pressing, the whole bunches are gently pressed.

The aim is to obtain beautifully fine juice while maintaining:

Purity • Acidity • Texture • Precision

From there, things become even more interesting.

Wild Fermented in French Oak

The juice was fermented using:

Wild yeasts

directly in:

French oak.

That's exactly the kind of winemaking I want to see with Chardonnay from a vineyard this interesting.

There's no attempt to make the wine clinically neutral.

Wild fermentation can bring additional layers of savouriness and texture, while barrel fermentation helps build complexity through the palate.

But here's the really important part.

Zero New Oak

This might be my favourite detail about the wine.

The Chardonnay spends:

10 months in French oak.

But:

None of it is new.

The wine is matured entirely in:

Second-fill French oak.

That's a fascinating decision for a flagship Chardonnay.

Many premium Australian Chardonnays rely on expensive new French oak as part of their prestige story.

James Thomas goes the opposite direction.

No new oak at all.

That means you're not tasting a layer of vanilla, toast and fresh wood sitting on top of the vineyard.

Instead, the barrels help build texture and complexity while allowing the:

Nectarine • Quince • Beeswax • Nuts • Acidity

to remain the stars.

That's confident winemaking.

Just 12.9% Alcohol

Another clue to the quality and style:

12.9% alcohol.

That's beautifully restrained.

There's enough ripeness to give the wine genuine intensity and palate weight.

But nothing feels overripe.

Nothing feels hot.

Nothing feels heavy.

It's another reason the wine has such beautiful energy.

Bottled Without Fining

The minimal-intervention philosophy continues right through to bottling.

The 2024 was:

Bottled without fining.

Again, the philosophy is straightforward.

Start with great fruit.

Handle it carefully.

Don't overwork it.

Don't over-oak it.

Don't polish away its personality.

Let the vineyard speak.

Only 90 Cases Made

Now here's the problem.

The entire production was:

90 cases.

That's only:

1,080 bottles.

For the entire vintage.

Heroes confirms that its flagship Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are so limited that they're primarily allocated through the winery mailing list, cellar door and trade.

So when I say this is small production, I mean genuinely small production.

This isn't marketing scarcity.

There simply isn't much wine.

James Thomas – From Bannockburn & Clyde Park to Heroes

The man behind Heroes is James Thomas.

Before Heroes, the British-born Thomas worked as:

Assistant Winemaker – Bannockburn Vineyards

and later:

Head Winemaker – Clyde Park.

That's serious experience.

Particularly when you're talking about Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

In 2016, Thomas discovered a mature vineyard in the Otways between the Geelong and Henty GIs.

It was outside an established wine region.

A risk.

But he saw something special in the site.

He and his wife Eloise took a long-term lease and renamed the vineyard:

Heroes

after David Bowie's famous anthem.

Nearly a decade later, the decision looks inspired.

Halliday's “Unsung Hero”

The really exciting part is that Heroes appears to be reaching a tipping point.

Halliday Wine Companion recently profiled James Thomas under the headline:

“Unsung Hero: Why Philip Rich thinks James Thomas' Heroes is one to watch.”

Rich admits he hadn't even heard of Heroes until relatively recently.

Then he visited.

His reaction to the 2024 range?

He was “blown away.”

And look at the results:

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 an extraordinary strike rate.

This isn't one lucky bottle.

Heroes is producing serious wine across the board.

Heroes vs Anti-Hero Chardonnay

This is the perfect way to understand the range.

2024 Heroes Vineyard Chardonnay – RRP $66

96 Halliday | 94 Wine Front | 94 R Review

Original Heroes Vineyard
1kg fruit per vine
Whole-bunch pressed
Wild fermented
10 months French oak
0% new oak
Only 90 cases

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

2024 Anti-Hero Yeowarra Hill Chardonnay – RRP $43

94 Halliday

Yeowarra Hill Vineyard
Whole-bunch pressed
French oak hogsheads
30% new oak

Yellow Fruit • Grilled Walnut • Marine Notes • Salinity

2024 Anti-Hero Coola Road Chardonnay – RRP $37

93+ Halliday

Coola Road Vineyard – Mount Gambier
Clay loam + flint over limestone
Whole-bunch pressed
Wild fermented
20% new French oak

Stone Fruit • Honeysuckle • Struck Match • Salinity

Three Chardonnays.

Three vineyards.

Same winemaker.

Completely different personalities.

That's a fantastic tasting.

Serious Australian Chardonnay

Australia is currently in a golden era for Chardonnay.

Whether it's Margaret River, Tasmania, Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula or Geelong, the quality has never been higher.

And now there's another place worth adding to the conversation:

The Otway Hinterland.

Heroes isn't trying to make massive Chardonnay.

And it isn't chasing the ultra-reductive, razor-thin style either.

This sits beautifully in the middle.

Fruit intensity. Texture. Savouriness. Acidity. Restraint.

That's why it's so compelling.

Food Pairings

This is serious food Chardonnay.

Try it with:

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

I'd go straight for King George whiting, scallops or roast chicken.

The combination of nectarine, quince, beeswax, nuts and fine acidity would work beautifully.

Serve around 10–12°C.

And definitely don't serve it freezing cold.

Give it a large Chardonnay glass and let it open.

Drinking & Cellaring

The Wine Front lists the 2024 with a drinking window of:

2027–2031+.

I'd be comfortable suggesting:

Drink now–2033+.

Young, you'll see more of the:

White Nectarine • Quince • Citrus • Acidity

As it develops, expect the:

Beeswax • Grilled Nuts • Toast • Savoury Complexity

to become increasingly prominent.

With only 90 cases produced, I'd be buying enough to try one now and hide a few away.

Why We Love It

This might be the wine that best explains why we're so excited about Heroes Vineyard.

Look at what you're getting:

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
94 Points – The Wine Front
94 Points – The R Review
Original 10-Acre Heroes Vineyard
Unirrigated Vines
Only 1kg Fruit Per Vine
1.2 Tonnes Per Acre
Sandstone & Siltstone Soils
Whole-Bunch Pressed
Wild Fermented
10 Months French Oak
100% Second-Fill Oak – Zero New Oak
12.9% Alcohol
Bottled Without Fining
Only 90 Cases Produced

And the RRP?

$66.

For a wine produced in quantities this tiny, from an unirrigated single vineyard, with 96 Halliday and 94 points from both The Wine Front and The R Review, that's seriously compelling.

If you love top Australian Chardonnay from Bannockburn, By Farr, Lethbridge, Bicknell FC, Gembrook Hill, Savaterre or the leading Yarra Valley producers, Heroes deserves a place on your radar.

Halliday Wine Companion has already called James Thomas an “Unsung Hero” and a producer “one to watch.”

I suspect he won't remain unsung for much longer.

96 Halliday. 94 Wine Front. 94 R Review. Wild fermented. Zero new oak. Only 90 cases made.

The 2024 Heroes Vineyard Otway Hinterland Chardonnay is one of Victoria's most exciting under-the-radar Chardonnays.