2025 Lowestoft ‘La Meilleure’ Chardonnay | Tasmania | Dual 96 Points

🏆 96+ Points | Tasmania's Extraordinary ‘La Meilleure’ Chardonnay – The Best of the Best!

96+ Points – Halliday Wine Companion | 96 Points – The Wine Front

From Tasmania's Remarkable Coal River Valley – One of Australia's Great Chardonnay Regions

2025 Lowestoft ‘La Meilleure’ Chardonnay

Coal River Valley, Tasmania

RRP $105

When you name your Chardonnay ‘La Meilleure’ – French for ‘The Best’ – you'd better make something pretty extraordinary!

And that's exactly what Lowestoft has set out to do.

From Tasmania's remarkable Coal River Valley comes the 2025 Lowestoft ‘La Meilleure’ Chardonnay, a serious, beautifully crafted wine that demonstrates just how far Australian Chardonnay has come.

And look at the scores!

96+ POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION!

96 POINTS – THE WINE FRONT!

That's an extraordinary endorsement from two of Australia's most respected wine review publications.

But what makes this wine particularly exciting is where it comes from.

Tasmania.

More specifically, the Coal River Valley, a region that has become one of the most important places in Australia for producing world-class Chardonnay.

We're talking wines with beautiful fruit concentration, extraordinary natural acidity, fine mineral structure and the ability to develop remarkable complexity in the cellar.

This is serious Chardonnay, and one that deserves the attention of anyone who loves great white Burgundy and Australia's finest cool-climate wines.

Lowestoft – A Fascinating Tasmanian Wine Story

Lowestoft is one of the historic vineyard names of southern Tasmania.

The original estate was established in the Coal River Valley in the 1980s, making it part of Tasmania's modern fine-wine history.

Today, the Lowestoft name is associated with an ambitious collection of premium Tasmanian wines, particularly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

And the philosophy behind the finest releases is straightforward.

Exceptional fruit. Exceptional vineyards. Exceptional wines.

The name ‘La Meilleure’ captures that ambition perfectly.

It's a declaration that this is intended to sit at the very top of the range.

And with the 2025 Chardonnay attracting scores of 96+ and 96 points, it's clearly making a very strong impression.

Coal River Valley – One of Australia's Great Chardonnay Terroirs

Here's something I find fascinating about Tasmania.

People often talk about the island as though it's one single cool-climate wine region.

But the differences between Tasmania's individual wine districts can be enormous.

The Coal River Valley is a wonderful example.

Located northeast of Hobart, the region enjoys a relatively dry climate by Tasmanian standards, with long daylight hours during the growing season and the cooling influence of its southern latitude.

That combination is particularly exciting for Chardonnay.

The grapes can develop excellent flavour concentration while retaining the natural acidity that gives the finest cool-climate wines their precision and longevity.

The result can be Chardonnay with a wonderful combination of:

Stone fruit richness.

Citrus freshness.

Savoury complexity.

Fine mineral tension.

And extraordinary length.

It's exactly the combination that makes the greatest examples so compelling.

Tasting Profile – Concentration, Elegance and Mineral Precision

The appeal of a great Coal River Valley Chardonnay lies in the balance between fruit intensity and cool-climate restraint.

The 2025 La Meilleure is a wine to approach for its complexity, structure and ability to reveal different layers as it opens in the glass.

Look for a combination of:

• White peach and nectarine

• Fresh lemon and grapefruit

• Citrus zest

• Delicate white flowers

• Subtle toasted nuts

• Fine savoury complexity

• Creamy texture

• Mineral freshness

The finest wines in this style are never simply about fruit.

They're about how the fruit, acidity, texture and savoury characters work together.

And that's what makes Chardonnay at this level so exciting.

Concentration without heaviness. Richness without excess. Precision without sacrificing flavour.

A Chardonnay to savour rather than rush.

96+ Points – Halliday Wine Companion

The 2025 Lowestoft La Meilleure Chardonnay has received an outstanding:

96+ POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

That's a remarkable result for a premium Tasmanian Chardonnay.

The plus sign is particularly noteworthy, signalling the reviewer's assessment of further potential beyond an already exceptional score.

For collectors and serious Chardonnay drinkers, that's an exciting endorsement.

96 Points – The Wine Front

And the acclaim doesn't stop there.

96 POINTS – THE WINE FRONT

Another extraordinary score.

When a Chardonnay receives such high praise from two respected Australian wine review publications, it deserves serious attention.

96+ Halliday | 96 The Wine Front.

Those are scores that place this release firmly in the conversation about Australia's most exciting premium Chardonnays.

Why Tasmania Is Producing Some of Australia's Greatest Chardonnays

For many years, Australia's most celebrated Chardonnays were associated with regions such as Margaret River, the Yarra Valley, Beechworth and the Adelaide Hills.

And those regions remain extraordinary.

But Tasmania has become an increasingly important part of the conversation.

The island's cool growing conditions provide the opportunity to develop wines with exceptional natural acidity and fine aromatic detail.

And the best producers have become increasingly confident in allowing their vineyard sites to speak.

Less emphasis on obvious oak.

More emphasis on fruit