Xanadu Chardonnay 2023 Offer

VINOUS MEDIA TOP 100 WINES OF THE WORLD 2025

The 2023 Chardonnay Stevens Road hits the spot with grapefruit and pear aromas counterbalancing a savoury dose of almond meal, crushed nuts, prominent oak and gunflint. The palate is powerful yet composed, with a superb balance of acidity and flavour driving the long and sustained finish. This is a brilliant result for the vintage. Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2023 (96) ANGUS HUGHSON, Vinous

From one of the most anticipated vintages in Margaret River's history, this 2023 Stevens Road Chardonnay leads with salted preserved lemon, lime flesh, green apple, white peach, cashews and brine. On the palate, the acidity is racy, which is a gentle understatement. It has pace and sting, and yet the voluminous fruit swarms around it and insulates us from its lash. The Xanadu Chardonnay style dictates that malolactic fermentation is assiduously eschewed, which explains the behavior of the acidity in the mouth. The barrels are stirred and the oak is carefully chosen, both of which create texture and contribute to the glacial longevity of this wine. The wine is austere in its youth but toasty and kaleidoscopic given time-around and beyond five years from vintage is a good rule of thumb. (96+) ERIN LARKIN, Wine Advocate

Excellent. Mineral-driven with aromas of sliced lemons, struck match, grapefruit, margarita, sea spray, oyster shell and a touch of sourdough bread. On the electric palate, pure acidity drives a mouthwatering sensation that lasts for minutes. Layers of white orchard fruit, saline-edged flint and underlying power have set this wine up for a lifetime (97) JAMES SUCKLING

Stevens Road shines this vintage and, while it will continue to garner more complexity, today it sets up an excellent foundation of flavour, acidity and drive. Lime and lemon with pink grapefruit, a layer of clotted cream and ginger, oak way in the background, long and pure with the fine acidity, albeit a little nervy and twitchy. Flavours linger; it's moreish with a stony, quartz-like precision. (97) JANE FAULKNER, James Halliday's Wine Companion

The two premium Chardonnays at Xanadu, the Reserve and the Stevens, are distinct both in expression and makeup. While the single-vineyard Steven's Road Chardonnay is often the finer of the two, the Reserve exhibits more pronounced oak, and it's a more powerful rendition. Philosophically, the latter is a blend of vineyards, although it often comes from just the Lagan Vineyard, next to the winery/cellar door. As to my preferred wine, it depends on the vintage conditions as to which takes my fancy each year. This 2023 Reserve Chardonnay hails from the most magnificent 2023 season, which was mild, long and dry. The fruit power here is undeniable. Every aspect of this wine is ratcheted up to 11: acidity, fruit power, volume, length ... the full kit and caboodle. It's a sleeping giant. The wine will mostly be consumed in its youth, but the act of so doing robs the wine of its future potential, which is a shame. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. (97+) ERIN LARKIN, Wine Advocate

Incredible purity and focus here, sitting on the edge of reduction. Aromas of sliced lemons, grapefruit, white orchard fruit, oyster shell, crushed rocks and flint. The palate is textural, yet its long line of acidity is not to be underestimated, complemented by underlying power and tension. Classy yet electric and flirtatious. Capable of aging for decades but already mouthwatering. Truly excellent (98) JAMES SUCKLING

The '23 vintage is turning out to be a very special one in Margaret River both with chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, but let's stay with the former here. This is a humdinger. Sure it's tightly wound, given its youth and all the electrifying acidity within, but there's substance and depth, too. A little waxy, refined, with grapefruit, lemon, ginger spice, a dash of oak spices (the 20% new French oak superbly integrated) and a little yuzu tonic water pucker. It's linear, long, with moreish sulphides, the merest hint of creamy lees and almost a savoury overlay. Brilliant. (97) JANE FAULKNER, James Halliday's Wine Companion