2023 Oates Ends Chardonnay

A classic Margaret River Chardonnay with a perfect balance between varietal fruit expression and winemaking influence.  A year that has given elegance and longevity, with beautiful regional grapefruit and white stonefruit flavours.  Barrel fermentation has given vanilla toast notes and the extended time on lees has given creamy texture and complexity.  A serious wine for the Chardonnay lover.

Ray Jordan - Ray Jordan Wine 93 points. “There is a God, when you can get a wine of this quality selling for less than $50. Okay, great vintage, yes, but it's then been really well handled in the winery. Aromas of stone fruit and butterscotch with a little of that primary grapefruit worked in. The palate is a powerhouse yet defined and refined with a keen savoury precision through to a long finish. Excellent wine.” Cellar 6 years.

WINEMAKING:

Handpicked and sorted in our Wilagri Wilyabrup vineyard, the grapes were chilled overnight and then gently whole bunch pressed. The fine, high quality free run juice was transferred directly to French oak barrels 30% of these new. Fermentation was allowed to start using the natural yeast from the vineyard, giving complex savoury notes. 20% of the barrels completed malolactic fermentation for added complexity. Following fermentation, the wine rested on lees for 10 months, before being racked, settled and filtered for bottling.

VINTAGE:

The 2023 vintage was warm and dry and will go down in history as one of the greats. Perfect ripening and a naturally small crop gave wines with incredible depth of flavour and strong varietal typicity.   

CELLARING AND SERVING:

This complex, fine textured Chardonnay will match most things, including creamy and highly seasoned dishes. Released ready to drink this wine has the structure and concentration of fruit to reward cellaring, reaching a peak around 5-8 years.