Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2018
-
Wine &
Spirits - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Vasse Felix Chardonnay is typified by its bright, elegant fruit, subtle wild complexities, and a tight acid structure, reflecting the vibrancy and purity of this variety in Margaret River. 'Filius' translates to 'son of' in Latin, reflecting the relationship between this wine and its premier 'father'. Bright pale straw color. Light notes of pineapple, grapefruit and crunchy nectarine purity provide a bright fruit base. French oak and time on yeast lees contribute delicious secondary layers of ginger, vanilla biscuit, almond meal, and lemon curd. Light and fine, in touch with delicate citrus flavor, a hint vanilla biscuit, and a zesty polished acid tang. It delivers a spotless palate that evokes a mouth-watering, river stone dryness coupled to a fine savory, silky texture.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine & Spirits
Virginia Willcock selects less concentrated lots of chardonnay from Vasse Felix’s estate vineyards for Filius, fermenting them with ambient yeasts and limiting the new oak. Her 2018 is cool and zesty, the juicy nectarine flavors integrated with a little spice from oak tannins and lasting with leesy length. Pour it with a crayfish boil.
-
Decanter
Vasse Felix was the first vineyard and winery founded in Margaret River, in 1967. Heytesbury Chardonnay is its icon white (£60), Premier the mid-tier, and its ‘son’ (Filius) is modestly priced, yet delivers a taste of that famous house style: buttery oak, apple crumble, sweet peach, vibrant acidity. Hay Shed Hill and Xanadu’s Estate Chardonnay are other quality buys at a similar price.
Other Vintages
2022-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine &
Spirits
-
James
Suckling
-
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling
-
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wilfred
Wong -
James
Suckling
-
Wine
Spectator
Established in 1967 by regional pioneer Dr Tom Cullity, Vasse Felix is Margaret River's founding wine estate. Pristine isolation, ancient lands and twin oceans make Margaret River a wine paradise and one of the world’s greatest environments to grow ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. These varieties, alongside Shiraz and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends are the primary focus at Vasse Felix. All wines are grown in Vasse Felix’s four Margaret River vineyards then vinified and bottled within the modern winery, situated at the Home Vineyard overlooking the Wilyabrup Brook. The Vasse Felix Cellar Door - also located at the Home Vineyard - is renowned. Featuring a tasting room, wine lounge, art gallery, wine museum and one of Australia's most acclaimed restaurants, visitors are welcomed from all around the world, eager for the ultimate Vasse Felix experience.
There are many things that make Vasse Felix the special place it is: the incredible environment and climate of Margaret River, their secure family ownership, their treasured heritage, and their priceless vineyards. But above all, it's the dedication of the entire team to continue Dr Cullity's original aim for Vasse Felix: "to make the best possible wine".
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.