Winemaker Notes
The nose is classic Vat 47 with delicate citrus and white stone fruit with a hint of creaminess and oak spice. The palate is medium-bodied and shows tightly focused Chardonnay fruit that is balanced by textural elements derived from the solids ferment and extended time on yeast lees. The purity, intensity, and length of fruit is quite similar to 2021, if not a touch better.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The flagship, yet with only 10% new oak. 40-50% used oak, mind you. The most tightly knit and paradoxically, at least from an initial tasting perspective, the most intense of these chardonnays. Peach crumble, vanilla pod and cinnamon stick. There is a wonderful, mid-weighted flamboyance here, typical of region, corseted by well-pointed acidity and classy oak. A chardonnay for the hedonists as much as for the sophisticates. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
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.
Most admired for citrus-driven, mineral-rich and often age-worthy Semillon wines, Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions and was home to its very first commercial vineyards. The region’s warm summer nights coupled with autumn cloud cover and cool sea breezes allow full ripening and healthy acidity levels for Semillon; its diverse soils of volcanic basalt and white alluvial sands promote the development of Semillon’s delicate aromas. Hunter Valley Semillons can certainly be enjoyed in their youth but with 10 to 20 years in the cellar, the best examples develop intriguing notes of honey, browned butter and roasted nuts.
Chardonnay and Shiraz also do well in Hunter Valley.