Burgundy & Great Southern Chardonnay: Old World Inspiration to New World Expression

Each year, Chardonnay Day offers us an opportunity to reflect on one of our favourite - and one of the world’s most compelling - grape varieties. Chardonnay is a wine capable of a remarkable breadth of styles, and perhaps more than any other grape, it is uniquely defined by place. Few varieties translate terroir with such clarity. From taut mineral expressions to rich, textural styles, chardonnay reflects climate, soil and winemaking inputs with precision.

Burgundy is the birthplace of the chardonnay grape, and for many wine lovers, it remains the spiritual home of chardonnay and the enduring benchmark against which all others are measured. Yet increasingly, conversations around premium chardonnay include examples from Australia, particularly its cooler regions capable of producing wines of similar restraint and elegance. Among them, the Great Southern has quietly emerged as one of the country’s most exciting regions for cool climate chardonnay.

The Origins of the Benchmark

Burgundy’s significance to chardonnay can hardly be overstated. It was in this narrow band of eastern France that centuries of observation shaped an intricate understanding of vineyard sites, where even neighbouring slopes produced remarkably distinct expressions. This gave rise to the concept of terroir as early as the Middle Ages, and would eventually form the foundation of France’s Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, a model that has since influenced wine region classifications around the world.

The region’s continental climate, with its cold winters, warm summers and rainfall throughout the year, allows fruit to ripen slowly and evenly, preserving freshness while encouraging complexity. Burgundy’s finest wines are rarely defined by overt power. Instead, they are admired for their composure, vibrant acidity and minerality. Winemaking inputs such as oak and malolactic fermentation are used judiciously, contributing depth and structure while allowing fruit purity and site to speak first.

A Distinctly Great Southern Expression

In Western Australia, Margaret River chardonnay has long been viewed as one of the country’s benchmark styles. Yet, just a few hours south-east, the Great Southern has steadily established its own identity; one shaped by cooler conditions and maritime influence, with several subregions sharing growing conditions comparable to those of Burgundy.

Spanning five subregions across Western Australia’s south coast, the Great Southern is Australia’s largest wine region by area, with incredible diversity across its scattered vineyard sites. Long growing seasons and cool evenings allow chardonnay to develop slowly, preserving aromatic detail and freshness while achieving flavour ripeness with restraint. Citrus, white peach and subtle stone fruit notes display alongside a fine mineral line and saline edge, creating wines of finesse, with clear varietal expression.

Great Southern chardonnay is typically made in a modern style prioritising balance. High-quality French oak is used with moderation, supporting texture and structure without obscuring fruit or site. The resulting wines offer what many now seek in cool climate chardonnay: energy, detail and drinkability.

Shared Philosophies, Different Landscapes

Despite the distance between Burgundy and the Great Southern, there are many similarities in the philosophies shaping chardonnay in both regions.

Across both places, winemakers favour picking decisions which preserve natural acidity and freshness. Heavy-handed oak influence and overt richness are largely avoided in favour of more restrained approaches focused on balance and site expression. Precision and purity are the crucial considerations of modern chardonnay.

This shift has helped redefine perceptions of Australian chardonnay internationally. Where richer, more ‘buttery’ examples once dominated the market, contemporary chardonnay in Australia now typically reflects restraint - a result of a growing sophistication in the country’s winemaking, as well as recognition of consumer preferences.

While the philosophies may align, the wines remain unmistakably shaped by their landscapes. Burgundian and Great Southern chardonnays speak authentically of the place in which they were grown and crafted, both prioritising elegance and precision, yet spoken with their own unique regional ‘accents’.

Chardonnay and the Language of Place

The journey of chardonnay from its historical beginnings in Burgundy to the Great Southern is not a question of imitation, but of understanding how one grape variety can articulate a sense of place in profoundly different ways.

While Burgundy may remain chardonnay’s prevailing benchmark, regions like the Great Southern are helping to shape its contemporary future, producing wines of sophistication and restraint that continue to elevate the global reputation of premium Australian chardonnay.

A noble grape expressed through compelling styles both Old World and New, chardonnay continues to affirm its place among the world’s most captivating varieties.