Thousands of wines are tasted and graded every year at the International Wine Challenge (IWC). At this year’s contest, the top-awarded Chardonnay took home the most points of any wine.

Tolpuddle Vineyarda beloved vineyard in Tasmania, Australia, earned 98 points for its 2023 Chardonnay and secured the Champion White Wine and International Chardonnay trophies — along with awards for the best Tasmanian Chardonnay, Australian Chardonnay, and an overall Australian white wine trophy. After a blind tasting of more than 1,000 wines, judges described the bottle as “compelling and addictive.”

“This is both ethereal and confident, a complex wine, alluring and demanding attention,” IWC judges note. “Rich yet taut, deep yet supremely elegant, offering beautifully integrated spice notes and cool fruit.”

The renowned vineyard also won the top Chardonnay award in 2020 for its 2018 vintage, marking the last time an Australian wine took home that honor. The winery has been producing wine since 1988 in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. The region is known for a cool, dry climate that produces high-acid bottles, which are popular with many wine lovers, according to the Tolpuddle’s owner, Michael Hill-Smith. “It has real attitude in the glass,” he says. “It’s quiet yet powerful with classic Tasmanian acidity and swagger.”

Chardonnay is one of the most popular varietals and the world’s most widely planted grape. Although it originated in the Burgundy region of France and has been cultivated there for thousands of years, IWC judges have recently recognized alternative regions, with a New Zealand bottle winning the top trophy last year and a South African winery winning in 2023. Sommeliers also say they’re seeing other regions like Australia gain traction on wine lists.

“There’s growing interest in Australian Chardonnay,” Rob Colomb, general manager and sommelier of ceiba in Orlando, says. “Burgundy demand is climbing, and as people look for alternatives, regions like Tasmania are stepping into the spotlight.”

Amy Racine, the beverage director of JF Restaurants in New York City, was impressed when she visited Tolpuddle Vineyard about 15 years ago and notes that Australian Chardonnay has “changed dramatically over the past decade.”

“Every wine I tasted there was incredible. It’s about time they got some recognition,” she says. “The cool climate of Tasmania makes for gorgeous lean, precise Chardonnay that stands apart from the bigger styles people often associate with Australia.”

Evan White, wine director at Houston’s Bludorn, acknowledges that there will always be dedication to a lauded region like Burgundy, but consumers shouldn’t overlook Australia — and this recent IWC award proves that. “Burghounds are much harder to convince,” White says. “But the best Australian Chardonnays I’ve tried absolutely rival those from Burgundy.”