Professional Ratings

• 97 James Suckling
  A very complex flinty and hazelnut style that has a strong play of fine French oak on the nose. Plenty of layers to the aromas here from white peaches and nectarine fruits to grapefruit and lemons. Immense grapefruit and citrus depth on the palate with warm oak spices and well-layered savory threads. Long and effortless power.
• 95 Wine Enthusiast

  This wine delivers all of the sea spray, melon rind, gunflint and oyster shell characteristics that Margaret River Chardonnay is known for. The palate shows power but not heaviness, textural weight but not richness, with a long line of salty minerality and mouthwatering acidity to boot

• 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2016 Heytesbury Chardonnay is a pristine, focused example of the variety as grown in Margaret River. It seems more crystalline and pure, less opulent and showy than previous vintages, although I must confess a bit of ambivalence about that. Pineapple and citrus dominate the nose with just subtle oak shadings (although it's typically 50% or more new). It's medium-bodied in the mouth with a soft, custard-like richness and a silky texture that fades slowly away on the lemon-tinged finish.

• 91 Wine Spectator
  Lip-smacking, with juicy forwardness, offering tangerine, mango and citrus flavors and a tease of spice and toast lingering in the background. Shows plenty of grace and elegance. Drink now.
• 90 Wine & Spirits
  From Vasse Felix’s best parcels in Margaret River, winemaker Virginia Willcock lets this chardonnay ferment spontaneously in French oak, where it ages nine months. She stirs the lees in barrel, adding to the wine’s aromatic intensity. There’s distinction in the savory, harmonious integration of grapefruit flavors and oak. But for now, it’s laden with flinty reduction, hiding a pretty spiffy wine that needs several years in bottle to show itself.