98 Points

The Vintage Journal, Andrew Caillard MW

Pale colour.  Lovely intense grapefruit, grilled nut, marzipan, vanilla aromas and flavours. Taught yet sinuous in structure with ample grapefruits and limes, underlying tonic water, grilled nut flavours, fine lacy textures, superb mid-palate volume and fresh high pitched indelible acidity. A thoroughbred of remarkable richness and torque. A beautifully focused and classic Margaret River Chardonnay showing off the fidelity of the Gin Gin Clone and precision vineyard sourcing. Drink now – 2032. 21V

17 ++

JancisRobinson.com - Julia Harding MW

Hand-harvested. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 553 NTU. Aged 9 months in French oak, of which 56% new. Six months in tank after blending. TA 6.8 g/l, pH 3.14. Bottled June 2022 but not released until October 2022. 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. This vintage is likely to be released in the first few months of 2023. Beautifully and discreetly spiced by the oak with – at the moment – very little struck-match sulphidic character, though it shows a little more with aeration. Marked mineral stone-dust character even with all this youthful fruit. Extremely tight, not lean, but textured, with a chalky feel. Crisp, bone dry, the citrus a little sweet-sour on the finish for now but already showing that lovely creamy texture, just. As it warms and opens in the glass, and going back to this after the older vintages in the line-up, the fruit is really intense, more tropical but still shot through with lime. It would be a great shame to drink this too young. (JH) 13% Drink 2024 – 2033. 21V

97 Points

The Real Review, Aaron Brasher

Green, youthful and bright appearance in the glass. Lifted and complex aromas of struck match, melon rind, grapefruit, white flowers, sweet pastry and nougat. Powerful, driven and focussed on the palate, with stone fruit, grapefruit, mandarin and nutty oak. Multi-faceted ... layers and layers of complexity. Super long palate, ultra sophisticated. World class gear here. 21V

97 Points

The Real Review, Huon Hooke

Light-mid yellow colour with a butterscotch overtone to the complex bouquet, toasted nuts, shortbread and rich sweet-fruit middle palate within a taut and disciplined framework. Tremendous line and length: the finish reverberates for a long time. A quite magnificent chardonnay. It's offering more at this tender age than the usual super-reserved Heytesbury. 21V

"The benchmark for ‘Modern Australian Chardonnay’"

The Wine Front, Gary Walsh, 93 Points

I don’t know whether it’s a strange thing to say, but I always think that VF Heytesbury is the benchmark for ‘Modern Australian Chardonnay’, and maybe that over Margaret River character. Plenty of tension here, struck match, spicy cinnamon oak, lime and pear, cashew and almond. It’s zesty and tangy in acidity, grapefruit and spice, a saline/seaweed character, a gentle toffee richness, chalk dust texture, and a creamy yet zesty finish of sharp feel and fine length. Bony, cool feel, but very good. 21V

98 Points

Halliday Wine Companion - Jane Faulkner

It’s been a joy to watch the evolution of Heytesbury over the past decade or so, as it’s one of the great Australian chardonnays. Whatever vintage conditions have thrown at it, and with tweaks along the way, the nucleus remains steadfast: quality, excellent fruit and a second-to-none level of detail in the winemaking. This is an evocative wine. Pristine and sublime. Funky sulphides rockin’ it while a gossamer thread of acidity holds everything in line – the citrus flavours, the texture, the wine totally enveloping the oak and, while it’s a powerhouse of flavour, there’s a purity to this. It’s such a contrast. How does it achieve that? 21V

Langton's Classified

Langton's Classification VIII

The glorious and expressive Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay is made up of individual sections of the Gin Gin clone. It evokes an exquisite balance between vineyards, emotional sensibility and technical brilliance. Batch vinification, bâttonage and maturation for nine months in around 60% (barely detectable) new and seasoned French oak results in a benchmark style with superb grapefruit and flinty aromatics, al dente textures and creamy complexity.

98 points

Ray Jordan WA Wine Review 2024

A wine of acute precision and freshness from a relatively cool season that turned out damn fine for chardonnay. It all comes from the Gingin clone with the fruit wild yeast fermented after whole bunch pressing. Spent about nine months in oak with some lees stirring. Has a crunchy lemon saline character with a savoury element adding further complexity. Intense and tightly concentrated fruit delivers with precision to an extended palate. Super wine. 21V