Giant Steps Wombat Creek Vineyard Chardonnay 2022

Vines here are now 40 years old, which is pretty remarkable in Yarra Valley terms. It’s the highest, coolest and most southerly of the single vineyard chardonnay sites. Custard powder, florals, wild on the nose but then cool on the palate. They make four barrels of this; two of the four are allowed to go through malo. You wouldn’t know. There’s a creaminess here but there’s cut, there’s savouriness, there are green herb and grapefruit notes and there’s smoke. This could be anything in a few years. Anything, I tell you. But it needs some time to add flesh. 94+ Points: 94/100

The Wine Front ∙ 14th Jul 2023

From the marginal Wombat Creek vineyard planted at around 400m elevation in the early 1980s. Whole-bunch pressed to French puncheons (25% new), one-third mlf. Aromas of yellow grapefruit, gently poached apples, white peach and a little yuzu. With its mouth-watering acidity, this the most tightly wound of the four Giant Steps chardonnays in 2022. Finishes chalky and long, but it needs another six to 12 months to fill out a little. Points: 94/100

Halliday Wine Companion ∙ 6th Jul 2023

Discreet and a little more subdued than its siblings. The highest vineyard in the Yarra. Despite being gently mid-weighted with lower alcohol, this feels softer and looser at the seams, while still typically intense. Bitter almond, lemon zest, nectarine and pistachio accents roll across a skein of tangerine freshness and cinnamon oak. Oatmeal lees at the core. The finish is exceptionally long and effusive of energy. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. Points: 94/100

jamessuckling.com ∙ 31st May 2023