Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From one of Margaret River's leading Chardonnay producers, the 2015 Prelude doesn't disappoint. It's a nutty, smokey, toasty, melony beauty. Perfectly in balance, with a chalky texture and medium to light body, it wears its heart on its sleeve and is drinking perfectly now, but will gain more even more complexity with a few years in bottle. Drink now–2022.
Editors' Choice -
Wine Spectator
Orange sherbet, Key lime and Meyer lemon flavors are fresh, bold and vibrant, with crisp acidity, a smooth, succulent body and an aromatic, spicy finish. Drink now through 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Vintage variation aside, the quality of this wine has been on the upswing. The 2015 Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay may be the finest yet released, offering toasted grain seamlessly integrated with layers of stone fruit and pineapple. It's medium to full-bodied yet doesn't seem heavy or alcoholic, instead giving the impression of ripe fruit and restrained opulence. It's finally come into its own as a worthy (if still lesser) companion to the Art Series Chardonnay.
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Wine & Spirits
Scents of chamomile and coastal freshness come through this wine’s substantial buttery notes. It’s balanced in the end, spicy and lasting, to pour for pasta tossed with English peas.
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.