Xanadu Stevens Road Chardonnay 2023
- 94
- $100
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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.
Tom Kline is a wine writer, reviewer, presenter, and educator based in Victoria, Australia. He is the Australian correspondent for the internationally respected publications Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy and Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, where he highlights the top tier of Australian wine for a global audience. Tom also writes for leading outlets including Decanter (UK), Wine Spectator (US), and Halliday Magazine, among others. An experienced wine show judge and WSET educator, he has authored several consumer-focused wine courses aimed at making wine more accessible and engaging. In 2023, Tom was awarded Best Published Feature Article or Wine Column at the prestigious Wine Communicator Awards, presented by Wine Communicators of Australia.
