Heytesbury Chardonnay, Vasse Felix 2024

The 2024 Heytesbury Chardonnay leads with toasted cashews and white peach, pink grapefruit and preserved lemon rind, all of it woven together by saline acidity. There's pressed linen, white flowers and wax, too. The palate is textural and shapely (something of a house style at Vasse Felix), and the length through the finish is long. While this may not have the precision and focus of the 2023 Heytesbury, it has personality, texture, line and power, and I love it for all of those attributes. What a superstar wine. It was fermented 100% in French oak, with 85% of the volume in barrique and the balance in puncheon. The total percentage of new oak was 53%, and the wine was matured for 10 months, followed by six months post-blending in tank. It will be released globally on May 1, 2026. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink: 2026-2036

A fine and detailed nose, with plenty more to offer given time to open. Lemon pith, white blossom, salt dust, frankincense and everlasting florals. The palate is a firm phenolic handshake, with vibrant acidity and wave upon wave of flavour. A core of fruit sweetness is wrapped in lemon pith, spice and salt dust, the final effect one of succulence, savoury drive and a wink of charry delight. This is consistently one of the best wines produced from the region. 100% Gingin clone, whole-bunch pressed, wild fermented and matured for 10 months in 225-litre French oak barriques (53% new); 80% natural malolactic fermentation, followed by six months on full lees. Drink: 2026-2040