Vasse Felix 'Heytesbury' Chardonnay

Description

“Deeply complex and so richly fruited, this is all wrapped in very tautly in a flavor-soaked and seamless chardonnay. Aromas of wet stones, yellow grapefruit, flint, green lemons, fresh oak and white peaches are all tightly arrayed. The palate has mouthwatering punch and crispness. Very assertive and driving with a sleek overall feel, but packed with powerful, pristine white-peach, lemon, apricot and green-mango flavors. So long. This is a modern benchmark. #44 of Top 100” 97 points, James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia

“Light, bright yellow colour with an incredibly powerful bouquet of grapefruit, lemon and spicy oak, all mixed up into a highly aromatic package. The palate is tremendously intense and searingly driven, the finish extended and dramatic. A very smart wine indeed. It's starting to drink very well but will be even better in a year or two. (Aged for 9 months in 42% new barriques, the rest 1 to 3 years old.)” 96 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review

“Heytesbury has always been a yin and yang wine. It has power, structure and depth yet can appear reticent in its youth. The fruit is fabulous. Wafts of lemon balm, ginger cream and spicy oak too but it is all about the palate - linear, long, super fine, a tight acid line, it has a crushed rock character with moreish flinty sulphides - the list goes on. Everything in sync. It’s one heck of a classy chardonnay.” 98 points (Best of the Best by Variety), Jane Faulkner, 2021 Halliday Wine Companion

“Beautifully opulent with hints of flinty smoke, lemon oil, caramel and apricot on the nose, stone fruit, lemon sherbert and a red apple acidity on the palate.” Gold Medal, 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards

“If the greatest wines of all prove their merit by virtue of rock-solid consistency from season to season, Heytesbury has attained the pinnacle of Australian chardonnay. The pinpoint accuracy of 2018 is breathtaking, with purity and focus that belie its deep, rising, swirling concentration and disarming line and length. Grand cru by every definition.” 98 points, Tyson Stelzer's Top Ten Australian Wines 2019

“The medium to full-bodied 2018 Heytesbury Chardonnay is rich and dense, intensely concentrated and packed with intricate dried-spice nuances. Notes of crushed stone set the stage, while melon and white peach notes constitute the fruity core, developing taut citrus nuances on the long, refreshing finish.” 94 points, Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker Wine Advocate

“A brilliant wine of intensity and concentration yet with sleek, shapely lines. This dials in the sea spray, flint and mineral characters over judicious, soft nougat oak, but the bolshy green apple and stone fruits of Chardonnay are there too. All of this is seamlessly integrated, becoming a symphonic expression of the variety so easily see as superb. A stunning wine here.” 96 points, Mike Bennie, WBM

“One of the most highly regarded Chardonnays in Australia, the 2018 Heytesbury shines. The reductive, flinty style typical to this wine is still there but is more reigned in these days: roasted hazelnuts layered with delicate citrus and stone fruit. The palate is beautifully complex and highly textural, nutty, mineral nuances flowing through to a lengthy finish. Elegant yet powerful, drinking gorgeously now but with the ability to age for several decades.” 96 points, Wine Enthusiast - Advanced Buying Guide