98 Points

Ray Jordan - West Australian

Shows the influence of the cool vintage. Refined and elegantly crafted chardie. Has more new oak than the standard chardie, but the power and intensity of the fruit handles it easily to maintain balance without a hint of excessiveness. Only natural yeasts are used and it gets nine months in oak with some battonage. Has a slightly charry character that augments the grapefruit and pear characters with a distinct savoury edge on the palate. Long and defined palate. One of the finest yet under this label.

97 Points

The Real Review - Huon Hooke

Light, bright yellow hue. Smoky oak and reductive notes add a patina to the bouquet which is more complex as a result. Grapefruit rocketing through on the palate, which is taut and refined, focused and long. Great precision here. Grapefruit comes up more and more on the nose (Gingin clone?), while the palate is impressively intense, refined, subtly concentrated and extremely long-lasting. A great chardonnay with a very bright future ahead of it.

97 points

Wine Enthusiast

One of the most renowned Chardonnays in Australia, the latest release is a knockout. A cool vintage allowed for gorgeous natural acidity and bright fruit to shine. Being the most cellarworthy of the Vasse Chards, Heytesbury is always structuredand more oak driven when young. It opens with heady aromas of toasted nuts, flint, seashell, vanilla pod and a seaweed-like umami note amid melon and lemon curd. The palate is fabulously fresh with textural complexity, and lingering nut, saline and citrusnotes on the lengthy finish.

97 points + Top Rated

2022 Halliday Wine Companion - Erin Larkin

Everyone has their favourites. The Heytesbury chardonnay style is typically the wine that my heart reaches for. I love it. The 2019 iteration is minerally; laden with graphite and crushed rocks, brine, white currant, white peach and curry leaf. Heavily worked and wild, with an attractive rawness to it. Where 2018 was about fruit power, 2019 is about complex winemaking input. This still has my heart, but for different reasons to its predecessor.

18/20

Jancis Robinson - Alistair Cooper MW

Roasted toasted almonds, flinty struck match, unripe melon and a lime note. Bags of wonderful limey freshness and a toasted note that comes through on the finish. Subtle smokiness, mandarin skin and a chalky oyster-shell feel. Has great acidity and nerve as well. Wonderful purity on the finish. (AC) Drink 2023 – 2040

97 Points

Decanter - Sarah Ahmed

Young, but not a hair out of place, despite the knife-edge tension. This is a remarkably taut, focused, yet nuanced Chardonnay, with lifted lime zest, twangy lemongrass, sencha tea, struck match and powder puff phenolics. A ripe, lemony backbone of acidity, ever so gently spun with savoury lees (a suggestion of mushroom), seamlessly absorbs the lightly toasted hazelnut oak (61% new). Delicate and intense; exceptionally refined.

97 Points

James Suckling

Complex, smoky nose of hawthorn, grilled pineapple, dried lemon, ash, flint and cedar. Full-bodied, but refined, with tight, elegant layers. Phenolic. Excellent backbone of acidity to balance the concentrated fruit and spice. Vivid and long.

98 Points

Ray Jordan - The West Australian Wine Guide 2022

Refined and so elegantly crafted chardie. Has more new oak than the standard chardie, but the power and intensity of the fruit handles it easily. Without a hint of excessiveness. Only natural yeasts are used and it gets nine months in oak with some battonage. Has a slightly charry character that augments the intense grapefruit and pear characters on the palate. Long and defined palate. One of the finest yet under this label.

Master Medal

The Global Chardonnay Masters 2021

Tangy fresh grapefruit and smoky struck match note, with toast too, and hint of herb. Palate grapefruit, smoky, struck match, some herbs, touch of dill, then toasty finish with citrus zest. Long, clean, layered, precise style,not textural. Possibly a touch of green fruit in there. Green apple but also juicy grapefruit. Tangy, Interesting. Fresh. Good. Might want more palate weight at this price.

97 Points

James Suckling - Top 100 Wines of Australia

Complex, smoky nose of hawthorn, grilled pineapple, dried lemon, ash, flint and cedar. Full-bodied, but refined, with tight, elegant layers. Phenolic. Excellent backbone of acidity to balance the concentrated fruit and spice. Vivid and long. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

17.5

JancisRobinson.com - Julia Harding MW

Cooler than 2020 and labour-intensive. Hand-harvested 21 Feb to 8 March 2019. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 500 NTU. Aged 9 months in French oak, of which 61% new. Five months in tank after blending. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.14. Bottled May 2020. Winemaker Virginia Willcock always worries about how fruity the wine tastes (what she referred to as 'devastating fruit') for the first 6–12 months after bottling, before it starts to show its more savoury, smoky/mineral qualities. She would like to keep the wine longer before release but they are always sold out of this wine for around 6 months of the year. A little more toasty on the nose than the 2019 and starting so show more of that creamy/leesy character as well as the more flinty aroma. More lemon than lime at first with a light smoky herbal note. Wonderfully dry tension thanks to the acidity and the texture, which is key to the impressive and mouth-watering finish. Fine grip/friction and great length. (JH) 13% Drink 2022 – 2030

17.5

JancisRobinson.com - Julia Harding MW

Cooler than 2020 and labour-intensive. Hand-harvested 21 Feb to 8 March 2019. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 500 NTU. Aged 9 months in French oak, of which 61% new. Five months in tank after blending. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.14. Bottled May 2020. Winemaker Virginia Willcock always worries about how fruity the wine tastes (what she referred to as 'devastating fruit') for the first 6–12 months after bottling, before it starts to show its more savoury, smoky/mineral qualities. She would like to keep the wine longer before release but they are always sold out of this wine for around 6 months of the year. A little more toasty on the nose than the 2019 and starting so show more of that creamy/leesy character as well as the more flinty aroma. More lemon than lime at first with a light smoky herbal note. Wonderfully dry tension thanks to the acidity and the texture, which is key to the impressive and mouth-watering finish. Fine grip/friction and great length. (JH) 13% Drink 2022 – 2030