Chandon
Australia
Chandon
Australia
In the early 1980’s, John Wright, already instrumental in establishing CHANDON in California, and Philippe Coulon identified Australia as the next stop on the brand’s journey, with a potential domestic and Asian market. They found a site, in 1986, for CHANDON Australia in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, and tasked legendary winemaker Tony Jordan with producing there.
Creation date: 1986
Estate Director: Susan Caudry
Website: www.chandon.com.au
Identity
By the mid 1980s, Australia had a well-established wine tradition. That was for still wines. For quality reds, the Australian consumer was quite happy to buy Australian. But it was a different story for fizz.
The thing was to find land. What Tony Jordan, CHANDON Australia first chief winemaker, wanted was a cool-climate area with enough diversity of terroir and climate to give him maximum blending options.
Jordan found Green Point, a tumbledown estate in Coldstream, an hour’s drive northeast of Melbourne, in the heart of the Yarra Valley, with view that would make an angel weep. He knew he’d struck gold.
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CHANDON VINTAGE BRUT
The Original. The first wine ever made at CHANDON Australia. A deliciously soft, fresh and creamy wine with incredible length and finesse. A showcase of our viticulture, heritage and know-how
Insights
“Making sparkling wine is very difficult and technical – the tasting base wines, the blending. There’s a sort of subtlety and a crystal-ball element to making sparkling that I love.
CHANDON is above all about wines which reflect the place they are grown. It’s about the character of the fruit, more than any winemaking trickery. We want to let the vineyards shine.
We’re not making champagne in Australia; we’re making the best possible Australian sparkling wine.”
EVERYONE IS WELCOME AT OUR TABLE
Our brand home at Green Point in the Yarra Valley is an easy drive of around an hour from Melbourne; and what you find when you reach us is simply stunning.
Guests can take a self-guided tour, learning about our pioneering vision and the craftsmanship involved in making quality sparkling wine.
We have a beautiful restaurant serving modern French-Australian cuisine mastered by our chef, Joshua Smyth, who previously worked in restaurants in England and France, including the three-Michelin-starred Petit Nice-Passedat in Marseille.
But we’re also keen to show that our sparkling needn’t be a formal affair, so there’s a lounge bar with sharing platters and a wonderful terrace with access to that view.
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FUTURE
Since CHANDON Australia’s foundation in 1986, we have focused on protecting and restoring fragile ecosystems, including almost 5km of river frontage and rare wetlands on our site. In conjunction with community groups and government organizations, more than 20,000 indigenous trees and shrubs have been planted on CHANDON properties.
Since 2012 we are accredited by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia – the Australian wine sector’s national environmental scheme ensuring that our practices are aligned with standards regarding biodiversity management, chemical use, air quality, water efficiency and the monitoring of pests and diseases.
As the current custodians of the land, we have the responsibility and privilege of ensuring the preservation of our wonderful natural assets
Key figures
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1986 Date of foundation of
CHANDON Australia -
95 Points
For our CHANDON Late Disgorged rosé 2009 @ Halliday 2020 wine companion awards -
12 Months
All CHANDON Australia
sparkling wines
are aged in bottle for at least this long.
Drink responsibly.