2025 Sonnen Chardonnay $45
Looking back, it seemed only a matter of time before Luke Andree's small-batch Sonnen Wine project would see Glenelg Estate in the Derwent Valley as the perfect place from which to source his Chardonnay for this label.
After all, Sonnen is German for 'sun,' and the block of clone 95 Chardonnay that's carefully managed for this wine by the Downie family sits at the highest point of the vineyard.
You'd expect it to be the sunniest spot in arguably one of the driest, sunniest valleys in the State between early spring and late autumn.
It also stands to reason that a sunny block of Chardonnay would produce a stellar wine, and this one is indeed a cracker. Impressive.
For a bloke with German heritage – one who even worked for a while with a Riesling producer in the Mosel Valley – Andree is a dab hand at making topnotch, barrel-fermented Chardonnay.
Forget full-on 14 percent alcohol Chardonnay. The fruit for this wine was brought out of the vineyard on ANZAC Day with a sugar reading (Baume) somewhere in the low 12s. Andree loves wines with elegance, vibrancy and intensity. And this has it in spades.
It looks fabulous in the glass. Luminous. Pale. Practically liquid sunshine. The aromatics are very refined and subtle – a patchwork quilt of minerally/citrus and white nectarine fruit, with a clear leesy thread running through it. Those same characters flow neatly across the palate, finishing with fine natural acidity and a lingering aftertaste of oatmealy/cashew Taransaud oak. Distinctive. Delicious.
As if that's not enough, Harriet Wilson's striking artwork across all of the Sonnen labels has got to be some of the best you'll find anywhere in Australia at the moment. It's almost sacrilege putting the empties in the recycling bin.
Vintage 2025 was the first time Andree got a crack at grounding his Chardonnay in a single vineyard. And a relatively young vineyard at that. The future bodes well for these sunny wines. Vine age will add further facets to them in the years ahead.
Source: Trade tasting, Hobart
Last page update: 21 August 2026