By no means a light Chardonnay, but not nearly as fully packed as its maker’s Vintner Select Cuvée version, this wine shows the same sense of obvious youth and is similarly in need of time to fully stretch out and open. It smacks of fresh apples and sweet limes lightly accented by sweet oak and earns good grades for its brightness, its stamina and its notable length. A bit of age is advised but not required. 

The 2021 Chardonnay (Napa Valley) is a pretty rich wine that offers quite a bit of textural intensity supported by bright, brisk acids. Lemon oil, mint, white flowers and chalk add vibrancy to a deep core of citrus fruit. 

Subtle baking spice and oak-toast aromas lead to a silky smooth palate alive with nuances of white peaches, vanilla bean, cream and poached pears. The wine is luscious but balanced, quiet on the first sip and then growing in flavor impact with each repeated taste. Best from 2026–2036. — Jim Gordon

Pale lemon in colour. Quiet and mineral nose, slightly smoky, with a subtle mintiness. The palate is honeyed and rich without being noticeably oaked. Acid is broad and round but keeps the wine fresh. The alcohol, while high, is well woven into the structure and not incredibly noticeable. Papaya and melon on the finish. A very ripe wine but without feeling weighty. (SCJ)

Our scores

Below is a rough guide to what our numbers mean. Although we are not very comfortable with scoring wines because it is so difficult to encapsulate a wine's qualities in a single score, we do realise how useful scores are for those reading and buying (and selling) in a hurry.

20 – Truly exceptional
19 – A humdinger
18 – A cut above superior
17 – Superior
16 – Distinguished
15 – Average, a perfectly nice drink with no faults but not much excitement
14 – Deadly dull
13 – Borderline faulty or unbalanced
12 – Faulty or unbalanced