Wine-Searcher has crunched the data and revealed the top 10 best value Chardonnays in the world, with an Aussie drop snaring third place on the list.

All of the wines classed as best value have been given a score no lower than 94 points by the Wine Searcher critics. Their value factor was obtained by dividing their score by their price.

Chardonnays from Chile took the top two spots – with value score of 4.27 and 4.08 respectively – were the 2020 and 2019 vintages of Talinay from Tabali Wines.

In third place, with a critics’ rating of 96, was the 2019 Lyndale Chardonnay from Orlando in the Adelaide Hills, which retails for around $50 a bottle.

“The Lyndale Chardonnay proves it’s still difficult to beat a good old-fashioned Australian Chardonnay,” Wine Searcher said.

A household name in the 1950’s and 60’s, Orlando was relaunched by Pernod Ricard Winemakers in 2020.

This is how Orlando Wines describes the drop: “Purity of fruit underlies this wine with an abundance of stone fruit and lemon pith, however it shows plenty of restraint and precision with its tight mineral acid backbone. A multi layered palate with a seamless integration of oak and a harmonious texture that is an outstanding example of modern cool climate Chardonnay.”

Best Value Chardonnays on Wine-Searcher

Wine Searcher concludes: “When it comes to great value Chardonnay, it is clear France has all but left the market, and although Australia and the US may still keep a toe in, it’s blindly obvious that it’s Chile who is not so much as cornering the market, as flooding it with great, complex, age-worthy and affordable Chardonnay.”