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2021 Stevens Road Chardonnay
$90.00
$540.00
462 in stock
This limited production single vineyard Chardonnay demonstrates our philosophy of selecting only the very best rows from the very best blocks on the property. Sourced from Block 2 of our Stevens Road vineyard, 3km down the road from the Xanadu winery on the Boodjidup Brook, this wine offers a unique expression of the outstanding quality wine this special little vineyard is capable of producing. Producing some of our best Chardonnay, the pedigree of the Stevens Road vineyard deserves recognition in its own right and is bottled as this single vineyard wine.
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- Viticulture
- Tasting Notes
- Winemaking
- Professional Reviews
- Related Wines
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Viticulture
Chardonnay (100%) |
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2021 |
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Margaret River |
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We had a great summer leading up to vintage, although a rain event about a week or so before the start of harvest lead to some unusually humid conditions (for Margaret River at least). Careful fruit selection in some vineyards was required as a result of the humidity, despite experiencing good weather during the white harvest. The end of the whites saw a bit more rain, which was then followed by fine weather for the rest of March setting up the Cabernets nicely. In summary 2021 was a more challenging season than usual, however the extra work in the vineyard ultimately paid dividends with some wonderfully elegant wines being produced as a result. The fruit for this Chardonnay is from Block 2 of our Stevens Road Vineyard, which is situated on the Boodjidup Brook about 3km from the winery. Fruit of this mature, low yielding vineyard has consistently produced some of our best Chardonnay each vintage. The pedigree of the vineyard deserves recognition, so much so, that we release the best barrels as a Single Vineyard wine. |
Tasting Notes
Pale Straw |
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The bouquet of this elegant Chardonnay displays delicate white fleshed stone fruits and citrus characters with underlying hints of oyster shell adding complexity |
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The sophisticated palate is medium bodied, offering white peach and lemon/lime flavours with a wonderful saline tang. A crystalline/minerally, structure combines with bracing acidity focussing the wine to a crisp, lingering finish |
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A modern, refined style of Chardonnay, displaying classic Margaret River hallmarks. The 2021 Stevens Road is a wine which, while drinking well in its youth will certainly reward with careful cellaring, developing further complexity from bottle maturation |
Winemaking
13% |
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750ml |
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3.01 |
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Made entirely from Gingin clone Chardonnay which was whole bunch pressed followed by 100%-barrel fermentation in select French oak (18% new oak). Wild fermentation was encouraged on all of the components, in order to introduce more complexity and personality into the wine. All of the individual batches which make up the blend were lees stirred throughout a nine-month oak maturation period, without any malolactic fermentation. The final blend was put together in November 2021 |
Professional Reviews
97
This always provides a distinct point of difference with the Reserve chardonnay, in that it is somewhat finer and more delicate yet it is all Gingin clone. The nose is a whirl of white peach and nectarine with plenty of edgy citrus characters with a trace of chalky minerality. There’s even a trace of sea spray. The palate is loaded with a white peach and nectarine combo working with a crunchy minerality. It’s a very small production wine but I love it.
97
This reminds me of a David Bowie concert, circa, well ... doesn’t matter, I was in the presence of greatness. Stevens Road doesn’t play second fiddle to the reserve chardonnay. It’s tighter, the acidity is distinctive and it feels perhaps finer but equally good. Flavours ebb and flow, one minute lemon and grapefruit the next spice and cream, oak spices, too. It is moreish, savoury and complex. Xanadu chardonnay, ahh, we can be heroes, just for one day.
95
Bright, lively and youthful in the glass. Really complex and layered aromas of just-ripe nectarine, grapefruit pith, green melon, nougat and oyster brine, superb. The palate is coiled and focused, all citrus, stone fruit and mineral. There's a real zip and twang to the acidity and there's plenty of complexity and mouthfeel pushing through.
95
Xanadu is a standout of this humid and wet vintage in Margaret River, first thanks to the precision of fruit achieved through diligent attention in the vines, second to the tension of upholding malic acidity in this generous season, and third to the balance achieved through wild fermentation in just 18 percent new oak barrels. The result perfectly rides the reductive edge and finds an enticing balance between the cut of lemon, the generosity of white peach and the exoticism of almost-ripe apricot.
Gold Medal
94
White fig, nectarine, mirabelle, nougat and tangerine. The acidity, tangy but juicy. The oak, beautifully embedded. Clearly a non-malolactic regime. A very good mid-weighted wine that will unfurl with age, engendering greater complexity. I wouldn't mind a bit more chew. Salty and long. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. Screw cap.
