2021 Heytesbury Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Vasse Felix’s top Chardonnay, Heytesbury, never fails to impress. Fermented and aged in oak (56% new), the 2021 is a gorgeous wine, combining savoury, flinty, mineral tones with a rich creaminess, citrus and stone fruit. That weight of fruit follows through to the palate, full and round, with great density, but its opulence is held in check by a line of tight acidity. Mouth-watering and bright, with a smoky edge to the long finish, it’s a brilliant wine.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Aged for 9 months in French oak (56% new). Tasted blind. Matchstick, flint, white pepper, lemon juice and apple, with all the hallmarks of great fruit. Long and persistent although there's notable alcohol warmth too. (RH)
It’s been a joy to watch the evolution of Heytesbury over the past decade or so, as it's one of the great Australian chardonnays. Whatever vintage conditions have thrown at it, and with tweaks along the way, the nucleus remains steadfast: quality, excellent fruit and a second-to-none level of detail in the winemaking. This is an evocative wine. Pristine and sublime. Funky sulphides rockin’ it while a gossamer thread of acidity holds everything in line – the citrus flavours, the texture, the wine totally enveloping the oak and, while it’s a powerhouse of flavour, there’s a purity to this. It’s such a contrast. How does it achieve that?
Gingin clone. Ambient fermentation. 60% new oak. First vintage of this wine was in the mid 90s. Medium lemon in colour. A neutral, flinty, reduced nose – seems to open begrudgingly to yield sweet cream and spice. Rip-roaring acidity all the way through the finish, with a pithy, grippy texture. Not much fruit – tight – needs a year or so. (SCJ)
About the producer
Vasse Felix was the first winery in Margaret River, founded in 1967. Today, it is one of Western Australia’s – and the New World’s – most respected names, crafting outstanding, cool-climate Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from this remote region, south of Perth.