2022 Vasse Felix Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
There’s a touch of gunflint reduction to this youthful Chardonnay, but beneath it is some gorgeously pure fruit – with riper peach that complements a backbone of lemon curd. Honey, beeswax and chamomile all add layers of complexity to the fruit. The palate is generous, with its concentrated core, a voluptuous texture, but with tightly coiled energy and a long, saline, mineral finish. Delicious. Aged in 44% new French oak for eight months.
Critic scores
Average Score
Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
Angus Hughson, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Chardonnay gives us a complete Chardonnay experience in the mouth. It is texturally plump, driven by fine salty acidity, saturated with powerful, concentrated fruit and shaped by gently grippy tannins. It's a really impressive wine, classy and composed too. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Robust and powerful, this 2022 Chardonnay offers up a dense core of aromas with rock melon and peach handsomely tripped with high-quality French oak. Mouthfilling and creamy, the decadent levels of flavor are well controlled by a fine line of acidity before delivering a lengthy yet nuanced finish. This is an excellent but earlier drinking vintage of this Margaret River staple
While this does not hold back on the flavour front, it still has electrifying acidity and detail, as is the way with this producer. It’s flinty, citrusy, tangy and juicy with the palate full of grapefruit and white peach and texture via a slip of luscious lees and high-toned oak, which is superbly integrated. It’s a chardonnay that offers immediate pleasure without a second thought, and, yet, it lingers, it’s seductive, and you want to come back for more. So I did.
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.