A toast to chardonnay: 40 years of Margaret River chardonnay at Howard Park

Burch family member and Sales and Marketing Manager Richard Burch compares their Chardonnay journey to the broader transformation of Australian Chardonnay itself.

“It’s probably the variety that best reflects how much our thinking has changed over four decades. The early wines were richer and more heavily oaked, which was very much in keeping with the era,” he explains. “What’s happened since is a gradual but deliberate shift toward wines that are more restrained, more precise, and far more expressive of where they come from.”

As Howard Park’s Margaret River vineyards matured and the team developed a deeper understanding of their sites, the wines naturally moved toward greater purity of fruit. And what began as blends from both Margaret River and the Great Southern gradually evolved into distinctly vineyard and site-driven expressions.

The result is a style Burch describes as “precision without austerity. These are textural wines with bright natural acidity, generosity and a strong sense of place.”

“There was always a belief that Margaret River Chardonnay deserved to be taken seriously on the global stage,” Burch says. “Forty years on, I think that’s been proven.”

And it’s easy to see why Chardonnay drinkers continue to gravitate towards the region.

According to Burch, Margaret River is “almost unreasonably well-suited to the variety.”

“Margaret River produces high-quality Chardonnay year in, year out in a way that few regions in the world can match,” he says.

That reliability allows producers to focus not just on ripeness and power, but on nuance – something Howard Park captures across its three distinct Chardonnay expressions.

Miamup Chardonnay, sourced largely from vineyard blocks in Wilyabrup, is approachable and expressive. As Burch puts it, “It’s the kind of wine you crack on a Tuesday night and instantly want another glass of.”

Howard Park Chardonnay moves further south into the cooler Karridale sub-region, where slower ripening builds greater structure and natural acidity.

Then there’s Allingham Chardonnay, the flagship wine named after founder Jeff Burch’s mother, Muriel Allingham. Drawn from south-facing blocks within the Allingham vineyard and planted to the Gin Gin clone, it’s a refined, age-worthy Chardonnay with remarkable depth.

“What’s interesting is that all three come from the same region, but they tell genuinely different stories, which is exactly what we want,” Burch explains.

At the Howard Park cellar door, visitors can experience that diversity for themselves through the winery’s Chardonnay Style Wine Flight – a curated seated tasting designed for lovers of the variety.

Guided by the cellar door team, guests compare different Chardonnay expressions, clones and winemaking styles from both Margaret River and the Great Southern, including rare wines not typically featured on the standard tasting list.

For Cellar Door Manager Larissa Dalli Cani, one of the most rewarding parts of the experience is watching guests discover just how versatile Chardonnay can be.

“Guests are often struck by the diversity within a single variety,” she explains. “How different clones reveal subtle nuances, and how regional characteristics influence structure and flavour.”

It’s the kind of must-do Margaret River experience Chardonnay lovers should happily plan a trip around – an opportunity to slow down for a few hours, compare styles side by side, and discover just how expressive this ‘chameleon’ variety can be.

For Howard Park, International Chardonnay Day is more than just a date on the calendar.

“It’s a good excuse to open something special,” says Burch. “Any occasion that makes you pause and appreciate what’s already in the bottle is worth celebrating.”

And perhaps that’s part of Chardonnay’s enduring appeal; it’s a variety that rewards attention.

“There’s a moment with a good Chardonnay – especially Allingham – where it opens up and shows you something you weren’t expecting… a quality that catches you off guard,” Richard says.

“Jeff [Burch] always says every bottle is a time capsule that tells of time and place,” he adds. “That’s what I’d want someone to feel when they open one of ours on May 21st.”

This International Chardonnay Day, there may be no better place to do exactly that than Margaret River – glass in hand at Howard Park, discovering three decades of Chardonnay dedication one sip at a time.