Professional Ratings

• 94 Decanter

  Mint, marzipan and lemon fruit aromas. Concentrated palate, mellow but tangy with citrus fruit and creaminess and a pithy finish.

  
  

• 93 James Suckling

  Complex and together white with cooked-apple, lemon-peel and cream aromas and flavors. Medium body, solid palate and a fresh and vivid finish. Always an excellent chardonnay. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

• 92 Wine Enthusiast

  Chief winemaker Virginia Willcock and her team once again deliver the goods with this beautifully balanced and multifaceted Chardonnay. More immediately approachable and showing less oak than the Heytesbury, it offers a noseful of lemon balm and orange rind and brioche with salted nuts and a little smokiness at the rear. The palate is creamy yet chalky with the toasty, nutty and citrus characters shining through, finishing long and savory. This could cellar for another five to seven years but good luck waiting that long. Negociants USA–Winebow. Editors’ Choice

• 92 Wine & Spirits

  Part of Vasse Felix’s “Premier” range, this comes mostly from estate-owned vineyards in Karridale and Wilyabrup, including a contribution from its new vineyard in Wallcliffe. Virginia Willcock ferments the unclarified juice spontaneously in barriques (48 percent new), then lets it rest in barrel for nine months with its lees. That oak aging plays a major role, adding scents of Marcona almond and macadamia nut to the fresh, juicy apple flavors. It’s a smoky, bold and broad wine with a quiet complexity that will gain prominence with age.

• 91 Wine Spectator
  The oak treatment in the 2017 Chardonnay is so subtle, it comes across as more of a lees-induced richness than wood. It adds another layer of generosity to the crisp citrus and pineapple fruit that dominates this wine's medium-bodied palate. Overall, this is plump and frankly delicious, with those citrus notes lingering elegantly on the long finish.