Flametree S.R.S. Wallcliffe Chardonnay 2023
- 95
- $95
- Drink by: 2024-2035
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A top vintage, a top Chardonnay winemaker and the result is something rather special. There’s a lot going on here with Cliff Royle overseeing a wine that exudes all class and complexity. Alluring aromas in sunny Meyer lemon, citrus blossom, white peach, nectarine, lemon curd with some super smart vanillin oak in play. This wine is all vitality and purity of fruit expression married to French oak, the latter a driving force that works super well with the fruit. The palate brings an unforced richness of flavour and texture nicely countered with some energising acidity. Flametree’s S.R.S. or Sub-Regional Series is based on proposed sub-regions by the late Dr John Gladstones with Wallcliffe centering on and around the town of Margaret River. Wallcliffe definitely covers all the Chardonnay bases with the ’23 wine including a touch of preserved lemon savouriness with a tart lime zest brightness that attracts the full attention of the tastebuds.
Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.
