Lenton Brae Wilyabrup Chardonnay 2024
G 95
Lemon verbena, grapefruit citrus, some pumice stone, and lotus. There is a quiet, undulating quality to this wine, some milky creaminess, and an oatmeal texture. It builds but has not yet reached it peak. This is a sleeper and a wine that will reward with careful cellaring. Its svelte frame and hushed tones are alluring – it’s a wine I’d like to taste again in 6 months, then 1, 5, and 10 years. If opening today, go for crab tortelli with lemon butter. Drink now–2035 Marri Wood Park Chenin Blanc 2024 G 95 Fruit is picked in two separate passes to add balance and complexity. Here in Margaret River, the fruit is as jubilant as are the people who live there. This is a case in point with a flourishing bouquet of dandelions, apple blossom and yellow grapefruit. There is the taut skin of nectarines, a plume of talc powder and some white melon. Nic Peterkin has picked to give you the best of Chenin’s many personalities; the crunch and focused line of acidity with the flesh and liquefied honeysuckle nectar of fruit. There is an immediate front-palate meringue creaminess, followed by the trademark marine wind salt spray. A subtle nutmeg and vanilla sugar hint indicates it’s been cradled with a touch of oak, but this is very much a small part of the whole wine. Delightfully gleeful from start to finish. Drink now or cellar for another five to six years to see the honey tones intensify. Serve with macadamia-crusted coral trout. Drink now–2031 McHenry Hohnen Laterite Hills Chardonnay 2024 G 95 Riper fruit spectrum than previous years, but that makes perfect sense for 2024. I actually enjoyed the stone-fruit concentration; the fruit tastes like something you’ve plucked straight off the tree. Salty pomelo, grapefruit pith, and preserved orange rind bring freshness, with that pristine acid that screams McHenry Hohnen. Perfect for drinking right now. The palate is sherbetty, tensioned, and a little coarse … in a way that makes me giddy. The finish is long, salty-fruited, and edged with quiet elegance. Drink now–2040
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The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
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