Country: Australia
Region: Margaret River
Vintage: 2024
Variety: Chardonnay
Alcohol volume: 14.0%
Closure: Screwcap

Aroma
Bright and lifted, displaying aromas of ripe yellow peach, preserved lemon, jasmine, and honey. These are complemented by secondary notes of shortbread biscuit, puff pastry, and a subtle hint of oak in the background.

Palate
Rich and full-bodied, with fresh acidity and well-balanced phenolics. Flavors of honeydew melon, apricot, and cashew nut are layered with generous notes of nougat, fresh bread, and crème caramel. The oak is subtle, toasty, and beautifully integrated, adding depth and length to the palate.

Cellaring potential
Cellaring Chardonnay requires patience, as its youthful charm makes it hard to resist. However, those who wait will be rewarded—after around 10 years, it will develop rich secondary notes of butter, caramel, and toast. Drawing from our experience with Moss Wood Chardonnay, we suggest a final cellaring time of at least 20 years for optimal complexity and depth.

Appearance
Clear and bright condition. Pale straw colour with golden hue.

Vinification
Both the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc were hand-picked and brought to the winery, where they underwent the same winemaking process. The fruit was hand-sorted and whole-bunch pressed before the juice was clarified by flotation and inoculated with a selection of yeast strains for primary fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Fermentation temperatures were closely monitored, reaching a maximum of 20°C. As the fermentations reached the halfway mark, they were transferred to 225-litre French oak barriques for the completion of alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. The new oak component in each wine varied slightly due to our considerations around stylistic impacts, so 10% of the barrels in the Elsa were new, compared 47% in the Chardonnay being new. Once alcoholic fermentation was complete, both wines remained in barrel for the completion of malolactic fermentation before being blended, adjusted with sulfur dioxide, and returned to barrel for maturation. They remained in oak until January 3rd, 2025, spending a total of nine months, before final blending in stainless steel. While fining trials were conducted to refine tannin balance, no adjustments were deemed necessary. Instead, both wines were fined with bentonite for protein stability, followed by cold stabilisation and sterile filtration, before being bottled on January 15th, 2025.

Ken Gargett
94 Points
Ripening took place over a slightly shorter period than this region usually sees. Yields were down but quality was up. This is the fourth vintage of the Ribbon Vale Chardy and it has established itself as a fine addition to the range. The wine saw nine months maturation in French oak barriques, 47% of which was new. A deep gold colour here, this is big, bold and rich. A Chardy chockers with flavour. What is exciting is that we are already seeing the early emergence of complexity. The nose exhibits notes of white peaches, citrus, a hint of the tropicals, hazelnuts, ginger, lemongrass, spices and very good oak integration. There is a creamy texture with juicy acidity and superb length. This has at least six to eight years of providing pleasure ahead of it and it will certainly improve further over that period, although the team see it as ageing for a number of years more than that.

Jane Faulkner
92 Points
Packed to the rafters with flavour, richness and lots of winemaking artefact, though It all works in its riper vein. Mid-gold and bright with layers of stone fruit, lemon curd, ginger spice cake, nougat, butterscotch and sweet, cedary oak. All that adds up to a full-bodied palate. It's a tad developed yet there's plenty of complexity. Fans of big, brassy chardonnays will love this.

James Suckling
92 Points
Quite bold and generous with aromas of yellow apples, preserved lemons, struck match, baking spices and pastry. The midweight palate has a creamy texture and balanced acidity that leads into a rather traditional, albeit tasty, style. Drink or hold. Screw cap.