2022 Heytesbury Chardonnay

Gingin clone from Wilyabrup (sandy loam with clay and gravel loam over clay) and Walcliffe (gravel and sandy loam with clay). Hand-harvested from 16 February to 4 March. Whole-bunch pressed and transferred direct to barrel as unclarified juice. Fermented with ambient yeasts and aged for 15 months, 8 of which were in oak (56% new, 44% 1–3 years old) with some lees-stirring, before 7 months in tank on full lees. Malolactic conversion completed. Filtered. TA 6.4 g/l, pH 3.13. Subtly smoky. A touch toasty. Ripe, pure citrus fruit. Chewy depths that come, I think, from fermentation with full solids, adding richness and complexity. Quite oaky on the palate and needs time to settle further but the balance is there for a long future. (JH)

If one wine typifies the current state of Australian chardonnay (complex, superfine, detailed and majestic) as much as a wine of place, Heytesbury could possibly be it. There’s a lot of fruit power this vintage, yet still, a tightly coiled style in youth. A millefeuille of flavour – grapefruit, lemon salt, white nectarine and complex savoury nuances, the oak and lees folded into the wine. There’s an intriguing zinc character too, a little flinty and funky with mouth-watering acidity. Moreish and compelling all the way through. Mesmerising.

The 2022 Heytesbury Chardonnay is lighter, fresher and finer than I can ever remember the Heytesbury tasting on release. It stylistically made a name for itself in the mid 2000s for the high-solid ferments, flinty reduction and spice aplenty. These days, I feel the style has swung gently back toward the middle, presenting us with a wine that is infinitely composed, powerful, restrained and yet kaleidoscopic in its fruit profile. I am not a fan of bombastic "best ever" statements, but this may go down as one of the greatest Heytesburys I have had the pleasure of tasting on release, and that is a statement that pays respect to the 2010 and 2013 vintages. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.