Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2017

Professional Ratings

• 94 James Suckling
  Simply put, this is one of the best value Australian chardonnays being made. It has a magic marriage of well-judged complexity with grapefruit, peaches, lemons and nectarines wrapped in a gun flinty and hazelnutty shroud of complexity. The palate merges pastry-like smoothness and concentration with electrifying acid freshness.
• 93 Wine & Spirits

  This is the third year in a row that the Yarra Chardonnay from Giant Steps performed at the top of its range—alongside, or above, the winery’s single-vineyard wines, and above most other Aussie chardonnays. It’s a remarkable achievement for a $30 wine. Steve Flamsteed is the force behind this persistently delicious chardonnay, blending it from five vineyards (mostly estate-grown), tending it in a gravity-flow winery where he allows the wine to ferment spontaneously in 500-liter puncheons, 20 percent new. Bottled without filtration, it retains the kind of supple meatiness and savory fruit notes that can make chardonnay from Yarra compelling. Here, it’s the clean peach succulence without any sweetness, and the persistent apple-blossom fragrance, that set it apart, along with that meaty note that suggests decanting it for a veal chop

• 92 Wine Spectator

  Complex, starting with a core of crisp Meyer lemon and grapefruit zest flavors, and hitting its stride on the finish, where delicate details of lanolin, green tea and peppery white flowers emerge, lingering effortlessly on the weightless frame

• 90 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Blended from the winery's estate vineyards, the 2017 Chardonnay is a terrific reflection of the winemaking style here, showing positive hints of struck match, subtle toasted grain and butter notes, plus pear and melon aromas. It's medium-bodied and crisp, with a silky texture and expanding citrusy notes that take over on the long finish.