Vat 47 Chardonnay
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2027
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted chicken with tarragon, pan-seared scallops, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ Technical Specifications
Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay is widely revered as the pioneer of modern Australian Chardonnay. Its story began in the late 1960s when Murray Tyrrell, convinced of the Hunter Valley's potential for the variety, famously 'borrowed' Chardonnay cuttings from a neighbor's vineyard under the cover of darkness. First released in 1971, Vat 47 established a benchmark for the nation. Sourced from the historic Short Flat vineyard's dry-grown vines planted in 1968, this wine is basket-pressed, fermented in French oak barriques, and aged on its fine lees. The result is a masterclass in restraint and complexity, balancing vibrant citrus and white peach fruit with a delicate, textured creaminess and a distinct mineral drive characteristic of the Hunter Valley's alluvial soils.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1858 by English immigrant Edward Tyrrell, Tyrrell's is one of Australia's founding wine dynasties and a cornerstone member of Australia's First Families of Wine. Nestled beneath the Brokenback Range in the Pokolbin subdistrict of the Hunter Valley, the estate oversees some of the world's rarest own-rooted heritage vineyards, notably the Sacred Sites planted as early as 1867 and 1879. Viticulture focuses on sustainable stewardship over ancient alluvial flats and weathered clay loams under a warm, maritime-influenced sub-tropical microclimate. The winemaking philosophy balances traditional techniques, neutral oak, and minimal intervention to preserve purity, vitality, and sense of place. Tyrrell's benchmark portfolio is internationally celebrated for Vat 1 Hunter Semillon—an austere, unwooded white renowned for its transformative longevity—alongside Vat 47 Chardonnay, widely credited with pioneering commercial Australian Chardonnay, and the singular, medium-bodied Old Patch and Vat 9 Shirazes.
🍇 Grapes
Chardonnay
🍷 ABV
12.5% - 13.5%