What a great release, fresh and mineral yet showing a touch of the sun from the warmer vintage. Aromas of Meyer lemons, oyster shell, shortbread, crushed river stones and grapefruit pith. The refined palate is tightly wound with focused acidity and underlying power that will only develop. So much generosity with a hint of funk, pure drive and a precise, compact style. Excellent.
96 POINTS
Cyndal Petty - Winepilot
A great showcase of Margaret River’s ability to make dense, dank and highly enjoyable Chardonnay. This wine is undeniably from the region. It speaks of the southwest’s oceans, people and the infamous Gin Gin clone. Green mango, apricot kernel, tangerine zest and candied orange peel. Power and wild elegance. In the mouth, the fruit is deep, sticky and salty. The acid frames the wine, with fruit, phenolic grip and generosity draped over it. Dried cumquat, spiced lime sorbet, mandarin oil, wet pavement and struck match. It has an old man’s strength, but childlike surprise. A lot is going on. And I’m all about it.
A slightly more generous style of chardonnay, showing richness and concentration while retaining fine linear precision. Minerally lemon curd with a savoury edge, intense and sustained. One of the best under this label.
95 POINTS
Jane Faulkner - Halliday Wine Companion
While it rightly reveals the openness of the warm vintage with its flavour profile, this remains a stylish wine underscored by lovely acidity and some funky detail. White peach, grapefruit and preserved lemon with an oyster shell briny note and grilled nuts, so there’s a savoury element, too. Plus, a whisper of moreish sulphides and superfine lees add a level of complexity across the palate. Refreshing and delicious.
95 POINTS
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front
This is a damn beautiful chardonnay. I mean, hot damn. It’s so juicy, so fruity, so lively and generous but also, simultaneously, so flinty, so refined and so complex. This is a buy/drink by the bucketload proposition. It tastes of grapefruit, lemonade, a range of citrus fruits and a mix of pears and peaches. At every step, it is 100% delicious. Plus.
93 POINTS
Tom Kline - Winepilot
There’s a rich, open-knit feel here — nut brittle, ripe peach, toasted nuts, vanilla pod and ripe kumquat bring a heady opening before a shot of pithy white grapefruit slices through the centre, adding freshness. There’s some nectarine with air and an undercurrent of flint adding dimension too. This really needs some air to come together aromatically, as the fruit presence after some time in glass brings a sense of balance to the wine’s savoury richness. The palate is textural, opulent and mouth-coating, with almond cream and vanilla making way for green apple, white grapefruit and green mango skin at the core. The oak sits beneath as a substratum — present but not overbearingly so. The phenolics are important here — tight, chalky and bracing, acting as a foil to the wine’s richness. Overall there’s a push and pull of richness and tension throughout. Lovers of flavoursome, generous and bold Chardonnay will like this.
93 POINTS
Nicole Bilson - Winepilot
Part of the Premier range, this fruit comes from some of the best vineyards in Margaret River. Aromatically, white nectarine and sun-kissed grapefruit add flesh to a backbone of subtle oak and a flinty, sea breeze minerality. A honeyed note of wattle blossoms draws you back in for another sniff, before revealing base notes of sultry sumac. Fermented entirely with wild yeast in French before 10 months maturation in oak (30% new) – the winemaking allows the quality of the fruit to shine. Initially plush and silky with a citrus tang , that same flinty minerality uncoils along the palate. A hint of struck match. Poise and restraint. Bright and youthful still, there’s plenty of cellaring potential.
92 POINTS
Angus Hughson - Vinous
The 2024 Chardonnay is weighty yet retains finesse and detail, opening with a rich array of nectarine and cantaloupe aromas. Ample oak sits comfortably within the overall package. The palate is mouth-filling and creamy textured, with a burst of chalky acidity that helps maintain a streamlined shape through to a linear, fine finish.
