2025 Tillie J Chardonnay | Yarra Valley, VIC | 95 Points Halliday

🏆 One Hell of a Chardonnay from One of Australia's Most Exciting Young Winemakers!

What happens when a winemaker who has worked at Leeuwin Estate, Keller, Cristom, Yarra Yering and Giant Steps decides to make her own Chardonnay?

You get one hell of a wine!

95 Points – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion

RRP $40 | Only 275 Dozen Produced

And that's exactly what we have here with the extraordinary 2025 Tillie J Chardonnay from Victoria's Yarra Valley.

Let me introduce you to Natillie Johnston, better known as Tillie, one of the most exciting emerging winemakers in Australia.

Her résumé reads like a who's who of some of the greatest wineries in the world. We're talking Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River, the legendary Weingut Keller in Germany, Cristom in Oregon, and two of the Yarra Valley's finest, Yarra Yering and Giant Steps.

That's an extraordinary education in making world-class wine.

And now Tillie is putting everything she's learnt into her own tiny wine label.

The result?

95 POINTS – PHILIP RICH, HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION!

ONLY 275 DOZEN PRODUCED!

And an RRP of just $40 a bottle.

Now that's the sort of wine I get genuinely excited about.

Beautiful white peach and preserved lemon fruit, toasted cashew complexity, wonderful texture and that mineral precision you find in the very best Yarra Valley Chardonnays.

It's elegant, concentrated, beautifully balanced and seriously delicious.

This is the sort of Chardonnay that could turn heads at twice the price.

The Wine – Beautiful Fruit, Texture and Precision

The 2025 Tillie J Chardonnay is a wonderful example of why the Yarra Valley is producing some of Australia's finest Chardonnays.

The aromatics are absolutely gorgeous.

Think ripe white peach, fresh nectarine, preserved lemon and delicate apple blossom, with subtle hints of roasted cashew, spice and beautifully integrated oak.

On the palate, there's lovely concentration and texture.

A gentle creaminess brings richness, while the vibrant citrus acidity keeps everything fresh, precise and wonderfully balanced.

Then comes that beautiful mineral character.

A little saline complexity, a touch of toasted nuts and a long, elegant finish.

White peach. Preserved lemon. Toasted cashew. Citrus. Minerality. Beautiful length.

There's plenty of flavour here, but nothing feels excessive.

And that's what makes it so appealing.

Meet Natillie Johnston – The Woman Behind Tillie J

Tillie's winemaking journey is fascinating.

She began her career at Coldstream Hills in 2012 before gaining experience at an extraordinary collection of Australian and international wineries.

And what a collection it is.

Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River: Home to the legendary Art Series Chardonnay, one of Australia's most celebrated white wines.

Cristom Vineyards, Oregon: Internationally renowned for beautifully structured, elegant Pinot Noir.

Weingut Keller, Germany: One of the most sought-after producers in the world, famous for wines of extraordinary precision and minerality.

Yarra Yering, Yarra Valley: One of Australia's most respected fine-wine estates.

Giant Steps, Yarra Valley: A benchmark producer of modern Australian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

She's also worked at Brokenwood and Framingham, adding even more experience across different varieties, climates and winemaking traditions.

It's an incredible background for someone now producing wines under her own label.

Tillie launched her project in 2019, initially working with Pinot Noir fruit from Helen's Hill Vineyard.

Since then, her range has expanded to include Chardonnay and other exciting varieties.

The philosophy is straightforward.

Great vineyards. Beautiful fruit. Thoughtful winemaking. Wines that are an absolute pleasure to drink.

And the results are speaking for themselves.

Two Yarra Valley Vineyards – One Outstanding Chardonnay

Here's something particularly interesting about the 2025 vintage.

Tillie sourced Chardonnay from two different parts of the Yarra Valley.

Denton Vineyard – Yarra Valley Floor

A distinctive vineyard site contributing fruit character and complexity to the finished wine.

Seville – Upper Yarra Valley

A cooler vineyard location that helps bring freshness, precision and beautiful natural acidity.

By combining these two sites, Tillie has created a Chardonnay with lovely fruit concentration and a wonderful sense of balance.

There's generosity from the fruit.

But also the tension, freshness and mineral definition that make great Yarra Valley Chardonnay so compelling.

Only 275 Dozen Produced

This is where things become particularly interesting.

Just 275 dozen bottles of the 2025 Tillie J Chardonnay were made.

That's only 3,300 bottles.

For a Chardonnay produced by a winemaker with this sort of international experience, carrying a 95-point Halliday score and selling for $40, that's an incredibly compelling proposition.

These are the wines we love finding at Liquid Vibe.

Small producers making genuinely exciting wines without the enormous prices.

Why We Love It at Liquid Vibe

Because this Chardonnay has everything we're looking for.

An extraordinarily talented young winemaker.

Experience at some of the world's most celebrated wineries.

Fruit from two excellent Yarra Valley sites.

Beautifully balanced winemaking.

Wonderful texture, fruit purity and mineral precision.

A 95-point Halliday Wine Companion score.

And production of only 275 dozen bottles.

All for an RRP of $40.

That's serious value.

And exactly the sort of discovery we want our customers to experience.

2025 TILLIE J CHARDONNAY

Yarra Valley, Victoria

95 POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

ONLY 275 DOZEN PRODUCED

RRP $40

White peach. Preserved lemon. Toasted cashew. Beautiful texture. Mineral precision. Outstanding length.

If you love great Yarra Valley Chardonnay, this is a wine you absolutely need to try. And remember the name Tillie J – I suspect we're going to hear a lot more about her!