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Vasse Felix 2019 'Heytesbury' Margaret River Chardonnay

Vasse Felix 2019 'Heytesbury' Margaret River Chardonnay

A knockout.
Wine Enthusiast
dryness
acidity
tannin
body
fruit
WBM 98
TWA 98
JS 97
D 97
A knockout.
Wine Enthusiast

Mission Codename Montraussiechet

White Burgundy fans, or anyone who loves serious world-class Chardonnay listen up!

Here’s a TRIPLE 98s plus QUINTUPLE 97s rated, and perhaps the single best example of Chard coming out of Australia. All that with an utterly rare discount?!!

Good luck finding this style/quality/price in Meursault or Montrachet, be it Puligny or Chassagne.

Yet Vasse Felix delivers that Grand Cru experience at a Villages type price. At $59 it easily competes with cult white Burgs up to 10 times its price. On the palate, it delivers lemons in ten different ways - sliced, juiced, sweetened, zested, curd, etc. And there’s all manner of complexity springing about - flint, butter, brioche, lime, grapefruit, and more minerality. It has a creamy texture but doesn’t venture too far into the overblown or rich style. Impeccably balanced, just a pure-bred beauty from all angles.

Won’t last the day - wish we had more!

98 Points – Wine Business Magazine

“The cool 2019 season infuses a singular purity and tension that demarcates a Heytesbury more elegant and reserved than ever, yet charged with profound presence, character and concentration. The effortless glide of unrelenting acceleration on the finish is breathtaking, like a shimmering jetstream that launches it to a near-earth orbit, promising to hold its altitude for decades to come. Truly stratospheric.”

98 Points – The West Australian

“Shows the influence of the cool vintage. Refined and elegantly crafted chardie. Has more new oak than the standard chardie, but the power and intensity of the fruit handles it easily to maintain balance without a hint of excessiveness. Only natural yeasts are used and it gets nine months in oak with some battonage. Has a slightly charry character that augments the grapefruit and pear characters with a distinct savoury edge on the palate. Long and defined palate. One of the finest yet under this label.”

98 Points – TWA Wine Guide

“Refined and so elegantly crafted chardie. Has more new oak than the standard chardie, but the power and intensity of the fruit handles it easily. Without a hint of excessiveness. Only natural yeasts are used and it gets nine months in oak with some battonage. Has a slightly charry character that augments the intense grapefruit and pear characters on the palate. Long and defined palate. One of the finest yet under this label.”

97 Points – Wine Enthusiast

*“One of the most renowned Chardonnays in Australia, the latest release is a knockout. A cool vintage allowed for gorgeous natural acidity and bright fruit to shine. Being the most cellarworthy of the Vasse Chards, Heytesbury is always structured and more oak driven when young. It opens with heady aromas of toasted nuts, flint, seashell, vanilla pod and a seaweed-like umami note amid melon and lemon curd. The palate is fabulously fresh with textural complexity, and lingering nut, saline and citrus notes on the lengthy finish. Drink now–2030 and likely much longer.”

97 Points – James Suckling

“Complex, smoky nose of hawthorn, grilled pineapple, dried lemon, ash, flint and cedar. Full-bodied, but refined, with tight, elegant layers. Phenolic. Excellent backbone of acidity to balance the concentrated fruit and spice. Vivid and long.”

97 Points – Decanter

“Young, but not a hair out of place, despite the knife-edge tension. This is a remarkably taut, focused, yet nuanced Chardonnay, with lifted lime zest, twangy lemongrass, sencha tea, struck match and powder puff phenolics. A ripe, lemony backbone of acidity, ever so gently spun with savoury lees (a suggestion of mushroom), seamlessly absorbs the lightly toasted hazelnut oak (61% new). Delicate and intense; exceptionally refined.”

97 Points – James Halliday

“Top Chardonnay & Special Value! Everyone has their favourites. The Heytesbury Chardonnay style is typically the wine that my heart reaches for. I love it. The 2019 iteration is minerally; laden with graphite and crushed rocks, brine, white currant, white peach and curry leaf. Heavily worked and wild, with an attractive rawness to it. Where 2018 was about fruit power, 2019 is about complex winemaking input. This still has my heart, but for different reasons to its predecessor.”

97 Points – The Real Review

“Light, bright yellow hue. Smoky oak and reductive notes add a patina to the bouquet which is more complex as a result. Grapefruit rocketing through on the palate, which is taut and refined, focused and long. Great precision here. Grapefruit comes up more and more on the nose (Gingin clone?), while the palate is impressively intense, refined, subtly concentrated and extremely long-lasting. A great chardonnay with a very bright future ahead of it.”

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What the Winery Says 2019 'Heytesbury' Margaret River Chardonnay

Vasse Felix
Vasse Felix
Winemaker
Virginia Willcock
Varietal
100% Chardonnay
Vintage
2019
Appellation
Margaret River, Western Australia
Alcohol
13%
Vineyards planted
1996-2008
Clones
100% Gingin
Fermentation
100% wild yeast
Harvest dates
February - March 2019
Total acidity
6.7 g/L
pH
3.14
Residual sugar
0.87 g/L
Aging
9 months
Barrels
61% new French oak

About the Winery Vasse Felix

Vasse Felix Winemaker Virginia Willcock
Vasse Felix Winemaker Virginia Willcock
Vasse Felix 2019 'Heytesbury' Margaret River Chardonnay 750ml Wine Bottle
Offer Expired May 18, 2022 at 11:59 pm
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Vasse Felix 2019 'Heytesbury' Margaret River Chardonnay 750ml Wine Bottle
Offer Expired May 18, 2022 at 11:59 pm
Register to get notified when this wine is back in stock:
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