Savaterre Chardonnay 2024

97 POINTS

Jeni Port - Halliday Wine Companion

Here is the art of winemaker laid bare, in all of its beauty as well as mystery. It's a slow reveal, all the better to take in a wine both plush in fruit and fine in structure, citrusy fresh and oak defined, savoury influenced and varietally pure. Complex, tangy fresh aromas arrive Beechworth-bright before leading into a tightly packed, concentrated palate of lemon citrus, grapefruit, stone fruits and toasted almonds creamily textured with honeysuckle aromatics. A suitable ending with saline cut and grip on the long finish.

96 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

I usually have a little sit down with Keppell Smith to taste his wares, though this time, whenever he was in Sydney I was somewhere else. It’s not intentional. He says this is released on the 20th of April, if he “gets his shit together. ” This is a richer iteration of Savaterre Chardonnay with not much in the way of struck match (though, granted, that can sometimes vary between bottles in my experience). It’s glossy and creamy but has firm cut of grapefruit acidity, there’s fine powdery grip to texture, a savoury nutty element and something of a sour yoghourt flavour, honey nougat, spicy oak, a mix of nectarine, pear, lime and melon with a tangy and savoury finish of outstanding length.