Giaconda: a monumental chardonnay

2012 Giaconda, Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, Beechworth, Victoria, Australia (about £95, Philglas &Swiggot, 020-7924 4494, philglas-swiggot.com; Noel Young Wines,01223-566744, nywines.co.uk).

The late, great Adam Bancroft was the first person in the UK to find the heavenly Giaconda wines for our market and I was lucky enough to be the first person to buy them from him, over 20 years ago, for Bibendum Restaurant's wine list. Last week, there was be a party in London to celebrate 25 years of Adam's eponymous wine company and we will all miss him being there he left this country with an enormous vinous legacy.

This exquisite wine is one of my just-released 100 Best Australian Wines for 2015/16 (you can find the full list on matthewjukes.com) and Giaconda winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner came over to the UK a few weeks ago to host a masterclass, so all the stars are aligned for this chardonnay!

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A true tour de force, the cortge of flavours roll across the palate respectfully firing up every neuron with rapture. The monumentality of this wine is easy to comprehend. Visceral and spectral, this is a wine that has the weight and temporal control of a mighty red and it leaves you juddering as the shock waves subside.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006.

He has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.