Xanadu Stevens Road Chardonnay 2023

This is a classy wine, unfurling beautifully in the glass to reveal a seamless marriage of high-toned, tensile fruit and savoury complexity, all carried by poised, enduring length. Tight lines of white grapefruit and nougat lead the aromas, followed by layers of pear, flickers of flint, lemon juice, lime zest, chalk, and an underpinning of fine cedar. With air, saline mineral lift and pastry dough notes emerge, lending harmony and softness after a furled start. Overall, it’s quite high-toned and pithy. The palate follows suit—tensile and coiled, yet marked by precision and linear freshness. Lemon juice and lime pith continue the lifted aesthetic, supported by sea salt, nougat, a glimmer of nectarine, and preserved lemon. It glides high through the palate before a frame of pithy phenolics and fresh acidity draws the saline, preserved citrus notes to a very long close. A strong release.