Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2022 (Australia)

Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2022 (Australia)French oak White stone fruit Nougat & grilled nuts Elegant & complex "Only 2ha of the Applejack vineyards 11ha is planted to chardonnay. The vineyard, planted at Gladysdale by Ray Guerin in 1997, is named for the Applejack eucalypts that surround it. Whole bunch pressed straight to barrel with full solids, matured in 15% new puncheons. This is a magnificent wine and the best Giant Steps chardonnay Ive tasted. Bright green gold. A stunning bouquet of

• French oak
• White stone fruit
• Nougat & grilled nuts
• Elegant & complex

"Only 2ha of the Applejack vineyard’s 11ha is planted to chardonnay. The vineyard, planted at Gladysdale by Ray Guerin in 1997, is named for the Applejack eucalypts that surround it. Whole-bunch pressed straight to barrel with full solids, matured in 15% new puncheons. This is a magnificent wine and the best Giant Steps chardonnay I’ve tasted. Bright green gold. A stunning bouquet of orchard and stone fruits, grilled nuts, white jasmine and marine scents. Just as complex on the intense yet perfectly balanced palate before finishing spicy, chalky and very long. Worth putting some away and worth every cent and more of the asking price!" James Halliday Wine Companion

"Lifted aromas of melon skin, grapefruit pith, wet stone, nougat, struck flint and just-ripe nectarine. Really complex. Fine and focused flavours of white stone fruit, citrus, minerals and nutty oak. Long and layered, it unfolds on the palate and acidity is pin-point. Very smart gear" Aaron Brasher, Real Review, Jun 2023

"Well this is apple-like, it’s not just the power of suggestion, it’s like biting into something cold and crunchy, lemonade and frozen meal, backed by nectarines, backed by nuts and stones. This dials back the intensity slightly, lifts the elegance, splays the flavours into a complex carpet, and then stretches its legs fully through the finish. It’s a stunning wine, and my pick of this year’s releases (by a whisker). Drink: 2025 – 2030+" Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

"The first vintage of this wine was 2014, and I note that The Wine Advocate has only reviewed a few since then. The vineyard was planted by visionary viticulturist Ray Guerrans. The vineyard is 13 hectares planted in Galdysdale, tucked into the temperate rainforest up on the eastern-facing slope (morning sun, cold in the afternoon). This is a great Pinot site and is 10 hectares of Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay clone in the ground here is the I10V1 clone. This 2022 Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay is precise and pure, with layers of bitter almond, green apple skins, star anise and almond meal. There is more lees stirring and viscosity here—the texture is certainly more pronounced than in either the Tarraford or the Sexton tasted prior. There is preserved citrus and plenty of fleshy tension through the finish. This is a pert wine, a tense wine, a terse wine" Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

2022 was a high quality but low yielding season in the Yarra Valley. A very cool, wet and stormy spring resulted in some challenging conditions around flowering and hence very poor fruit set. The season proceeded to dry out into December, with a dry and warm Christmas period. This exacerbated the already small bunch weights, leading to bunches that weighed up to 40% lower than average. The mild summer meant long, slow ripening and flavour concentration throughout summer, with some well-placed rain in January refreshing the vineyards at just the right time. The strong canopies and low fruit load meant we sailed neatly into picking with very little disease or weather pressure affecting our picking decisions. The grapes from 2022 came off the vine with lovely concentration and flavour and great natural acidity.

100% hand picked and whole bunch pressed. The juice was then transferred directly to barrel by gravity with no settling, taking full gross lees. Wild fermented in 500L French oak puncheons. No bâtonnage. Maturation for 10 months in new and used French oak – 15% new, 85% older, Mercurey, Taransaud and Dargaud & Jaeglé.