Winemaker Notes
The wine displays fresh green tinges on a pale straw color. The nose exhibits aromas of fresh cut pear and honey dew melon with some zesty citric notes. There are no overt woody or buttery aromas with the primary fruit characters expressed with clarity and definition. The palate is fresh and lively with clean crisp acidity complementing the vibrant fruity flavours. The palate has very good extension and ends clean and bright. This is a restrained style of Australian Chardonnay and highlights how far we have come with this style of wine over the last decade.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Michael Kerrigan grows and makes this chardonnay at an estate originally planted in the 1970s in Wilyabrup, less than three miles east of the coast. It starts off with creamy flavors of Golden Delicious apple and buttery piecrust, all sustained by tart acidity. Then, as the flavors begin to meld, they turn toward chamomile and caraway, pork broth and caramel. It’s an intriguing take on chardonnay from Margaret River, a wine to decant for seared scallops over creamy risotto.
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James Suckling
This has rich peach and green-mango aromas with some gentle, buttery elements, too. The palate has a very fresh, lively feel with such sleek, smooth-honed peach and lemon-cream flavors at the finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Hay Shed Hill Chardonnay is well-built and finishes well. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows up with aromas and flavors of stones, chalk, and dried apples. Pair it with pan-fried Petrale sole. (Tasted: June 18, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Home to some of Australia’s most elegant and long-lived red and white wines, Margaret River is situated in the farthest reaches of Western Australia. Relatively warm and dry, the region is cooled by breezes from the Indian Ocean. Margaret River takes some inspiration from Bordeaux, producing top-quality Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux Blends with firm structure, mouthwatering acidity, balanced alcohol and notes of herbs and spice. For white wines, refreshing blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon as well as complex, age-worthy Chardonnays are regional specialties.