2020 Reserve Chardonnay

This comes from the original Lagan plan>ng and is made along similar lines to the Steven's Road, including the avoidance of malolactic>c fermentation which contributes to its brightness and energy. The difference in the two wines is quite distinct with the finer and relatively more delicate Stevens Road a contrast with the immediately more powerful and concentrated Reserve. Has a distinct minerally chalky mouth feel with a subtle leesy character evident. There's a little salty saline character especially on the palate which offsets the slightly cheese cloth character. IT's another cracking wine.

Very light, bright colour, with a woolly, free-sulfur note on the nose at first, a reserved style that is no doubt built to last. The palate has excellent intensity; concentration delivered with understatement, the reserve boding well for its future. Grapefruit laced with nutty nuances, a superb wine that delivers beautifully now and promises to show much more in the future. Long, long carry. 21 APR 2022

If Stevens Road offers the sunny side of the Gin Gin chardonnay clone, here we see its other, more serious expression. Way more serious. Built around taut acidity and an oh-so-slow-to-evolve fruit presence, there is a level of anticipation with each mouthful. You sense beneath its firm exterior that something special is evolving. But this reserve chardonnay, living up to its name, will not be hurried. Give it time. It will be worth the wait. A swish of air and the glass is filled with a striking lemony perfume, green papaya and grapefruit pulp. It offers a deep-seated, quiet complexity. Citrus is quite a powerful flavour component of the wine, matched on the palate with leesy, mealy characters, grilled nuts, mandarin skin, brisk green apple accompanied by a punchy lift of brisk acidity. It’s clearly in building mode. The maker has a clear definition of what a reserve chardonnay should be. How refreshing! It is a wine of presence – you sense it immediately - and one built to last.

Peach, oatmeal and spice, a little vanilla and cedar, grapefruit too. It’s quite rich and golden in a way, but still quite zesty and grapefruity, with a savoury cedar overlay, a light chalky texture, and a juicy citrus finish of excellent length. Very good, though maybe the Stevens has the edge in 2020. – MARCH 22

Margaret River's Xanadu winery is renowned for its consistent excellence and this new-release reserve chardonnay is right on target. This is 10th consecutive release of the reserve chardonnay with 100% of the fruit from the Lagan estate vineyard. Medium-bodied, textural, minerally and barrel fermented but with a definite feminine side, this has a classic amalgam of citrus and white stone fruit flavours, with restrained quality oak and some sea spray on the rocks character lurking in the background. Drink now, or cellar for a few years. Pair with maybe roast spatchcock or other poultry dishes. $110 but seriously delicious and 97/100 from me.

Pale colour. Fragrant camomile, white peach, grapefruit aromas with flinty minerally notes. Refined and elegantly styled with fresh grapefruit, nectarine, tonic water notes and bittersweet textures. Finishes chalky and minerally. Very linear, but a core of pure fruit energy. This should unravel beautifully.

Pure, unfettered fruit concentration is the calling card of the 2020 Reserve Chardonnay. That, and the acid. The focus on blocking malolactic fermentation in the Chardonnays at Xanadu has imbued the wines with line, focus and purity, and it allows them to evolve, very slowly, over a long period of time. This wine, today, in its youth, pulses with life and vibrancy, and it is the best example I can think to give of the power and acid inherent in the Gingin clone. The Lagan Vineyard (situated just outside the cellar door) performs just like this each year. Almost impervious to the seasons, save for a slight nod in their direction, the vineyard is balanced and possessed of its own identity. Crystalline and almost austere, this is toasty and spiced, with layers of undulating flavour through the fine, spooling finish. A monumental wine of endless potential

The problem with Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay is that it is delicious on release. But that has nothing on what it morphs into, with age. This is a wine that is all too often overlooked (not in the show system, granted) by collectors, because too few people have been privy to the wines in their middle age. A problem emerges: the wines are drunk too early and don't get the opportunity to show their full potential. This is crystalline, pure almost austere toasty and spiced, with layers of undulating flavour through the fine, spooling finish. A monumental wine of endless potential.

The 13th consecutive release from the Lagan Estate Vineyard presents scintillating poise and tension that transcend the generosity of this early, warm vintage. The exacting regime of Glenn Goodall tactically deploys malic acidity to bring focus and line to pristine white peach, even lifted apple blossom unexpected in such a season in Margaret River. Spectacular line, unerring length and lightening acidity.

This has aromas of white grapefruits, lime pith, crushed stones, white lavender, praline and spiced apples. The energy and focus is impressive, with a medium-bodied, compact palate, driven by sharp acidity. Long and mineral. Drink or hold.