Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
There’s a punchy, confident appeal to this chardonnay, which has a rich peach, lemon-curd and toasted-hazelnut nose with acute freshness and fruit intensity. The palate unfurls plenty of flavorsome, ripe stone-fruit flesh and then zips taut with bracing acidity on the mouthwatering finish. Drink over the next five years.
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Vinous
Pale yellow. Vibrant, mineral-driven citrus and orchard fruit aromas pick up floral and tarragon notes with air. Tangy and finely etched, offering Meyer lemon and pear flavors that deepen through the midpalate. Closes long and minerally, with lingering honeysuckle and pear skin notes.
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Wine Enthusiast
Subtle but distinctive notes of honeydew melon, citrus, buttercup and a lick of spicy, toasty oak lead on the nose. A broad and creamy texture shines on the palate where the stone fruit and melon flavors are lifted by vibrant, citrusy acidity and a saline finish. This is a classic example of modern Aussie Chardonnay that relaxed and approachable.
Editors' Choice -
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay offers excellent richness and balance. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of tart apple, savory spices, and chalk. Pair it with pan-fried halibut. (Tasted; September 24, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay is a multi-clonal blend that spent nine months in oak (30% to 40% new). Hints of caramel accent pineapple and white peach notes in this medium to full-bodied wine, while the plush, ripe, tropical fruit finishes with admirable length.
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.