Vasse Felix Chardonnay 2024

There’s a rich, open-knit feel here — nut brittle, ripe peach, toasted nuts, vanilla pod and ripe kumquat bring a heady opening before a shot of pithy white grapefruit slices through the centre, adding freshness. There’s some nectarine with air and an undercurrent of flint adding dimension too. This really needs some air to come together aromatically, as the fruit presence after some time in glass brings a sense of balance to the wine’s savoury richness. The palate is textural, opulent and mouth-coating, with almond cream and vanilla making way for green apple, white grapefruit and green mango skin at the core. The oak sits beneath as a substratum — present but not overbearingly so. The phenolics are important here — tight, chalky and bracing, acting as a foil to the wine’s richness. Overall there’s a push and pull of richness and tension throughout. Lovers of flavoursome, generous and bold Chardonnay will like this.