Mission Codename Jolly Gold Giant
Today’s Giant Steps 2014 Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay is one incredible wine! It is silky and butter-smooth on the palate, where it delivers an abundance of delicious flavors. What about the nose, you ask? There, too, the wine exudes richness and authenticity, with each aroma distinct and true to its real world counterpart.
A gorgeous and complex set of aromas greet you on the nose, with baked apple, pomelo, Pippin apple, lemon curd, brioche, hazelnut, slate mineral, subtle oak and a hint of subtle white pepper.
After a delicious explosion of Pomelo, lemon, lemongrass and soft white spice, flavors of lemon curd, acacia flowers, brioche, slate, baked apple, toasty oak, vanilla and subtle white pepper follow on.
Winemaker Phil Sexton has been making wine under his Giant Steps label for two decades. In that time, his wines have racked up more top accolades than you might think possible. One sip of today’s wine will make you a believer in Phil’s winemaking talents. We were hooked at first sniff!
This very highly recommended and 97 point wine is very limited, so please reserve yours soon.
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Here’s what the wine press has to say:
97 points - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion - “You can’t make great wine by numbers, but the seamless balance of the wine stems from the perfect ripeness linked to its alcohol (or vice versa). Having taken on board the complex white flowers bouquet, it flows across the palate like a shower of confetti, dispensing stone fruit, grapefruit and splashes of balanced acidity.”
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94 points - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, August 12, 2015 - “Overt oak but not overwhelming – nougat, halva-sweet-nuttiness, raw tobacco scents coupled to mixed citrus peel and bruised apple scents. Still, holds a lofty, bright, vibrant perfume.
Clatters across the palate with delicate acidity and a sheath of subtle, vanillin oak character. The freshness and friskiness of the fruit character is notable, it skips and twists through the mouth with a lacy, frisky feel, almost gossamer in texture and finishes mouthwatering and refreshing, fruit pure and crisp. Almost like you need to concentrate. Flighty and delicious for it.”
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Matthew Jukes - 100 Best Australian Wines 2016/17 - “The Sexton Vineyard has always been a prime piece of real estate and I regularly write up wines from within its remarkable boundaries, but in 2014 this glorious tract of dirt is responsible for two cosmic creations and, what’s all the more noteworthy, is that one is white and the other is red!
I am always rather humbled by these wines, too, because the prices seem to be somewhat of a steal bearing in mind just how amazing they taste.
The 2014 Chardonnay is the epitome of the Yarra with a bountiful fruit bowl of aromatics, which includes a few strategically placed apricots, to up the exoticism quota imperceptibly. The result is a wine that makes the mouth-water in an ever-so-slightly unusual manner! I couldn’t wait to dive back into the glass for more; in fact it was rather disappointing to have to get out to towel down.”
What the Winery Says
2014 Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay
- Winemaker
- Steve Flamsteed
- Varietal
- Chardonnay
- Vintage
- 2014
- Appellation
- Yarra Valley, Australia
- Abv
- 13.5%
- TA
- 6.24 g/L
- pH
- 3.24
- Aging
- 9 months
- Barrels
- 20% new French oak
- Harvest date
- February 2014
- Bottling date
- January 2015
- Production
- 430 cases