Winemaker Notes
Power and presence delight, then energy and vitality are the thread throughout the aromas lifting from the glass. Lemon curd, fresh nashi pear and citrus blossom create the shape and frame aromatically, with layered undercurrents of vanilla bean, patisserie, tea leaf, and flint nuances. The palate is precise, focused and fine with delicately woven texture. Juicy white peach combines with pear at the core. Harmony, elegance and vibrancy sew all elements together, with a saline and mineral finish that is the hallmark of this classic 2020 vintage.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This vintage is a triumph, with firm fruit surrounded by a rigid suit of armor that compresses its flanks and ratchets up the drama. This adds immeasurable length to the flavor without any diminuendo in power or persistence. The fruit is cradled with beautiful blonde oak and shot through with sublime pith and herb details allowing the flavors to transcend expectation.
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James Suckling
Tauter than vintages of yore, boasting complex aromas of pear distillate, citrus verbena, nougat, cashew, cedar-tinged oak and succulent white peach. Immaculately constructed, pure and rather wonderful. Founded on a tensile stream of pungent mineral, transcendental poise and scintillating length. There is little out of place here. Superb New World chardonnay.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This wine is tightly coiled and colored white in its characters: nectarine, white peach, white currant, white pepper and pineapple husk.I tasted this wine blind at one of my wine group nights, and at that tightly bound stage, I couldn't see Margaret River nor the seasonal warmth in the glass. It has since fleshed out somewhat and now is looking more like its place and year. The acidity is juicy and almost puckering in its intensity, and it lingers long after the wine has gone.
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Wine Enthusiast
Vibrant lemon, honeydew melon, salty sea shell and toast open this unmistakably Margaret River Chard. A mineral streak of saline acidity crackles through the middle of the rich, textural mouthfeel, streamlining and providing refreshment amid the toast and lees characters. An impressive wine that deftly demonstrates this classic producer’s—as well as this region’s—Chardonnay prowess.
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Wine Spectator
This stunning version is a fresh, sleek and precise expression of Chardonnay, with bright flavors of peach, lemon zest and candied ginger, plus floral notes of jasmine, orange blossom and dried sage. Hints of salted, buttery shortbread, green cardamom and toasted sesame seed linger on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2036.
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.