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2014 Chardonnay94 Points - James Halliday
James Halliday - Published on 06 Oct 2016 From the 1ha estate vineyard with the traditional I10V1 and I10V5 clones, hand-picked at 1.7 tonnes per acre, fermented in French barriques (38% new), matured for 15 months. An unambiguously good chardonnay, perfectly ripe, with ripe peach, honeydew melon and grapefruit all having their say on the long, well balanced palate, oak merely a conveyance 93 Points - Wine Reviewer 2014 continues to be known as a high quality but devastatingly low yielding vintage with the the inaugural release from Lyons Will cropped at only 0.7 tonne per acre. A straw yellow in the glass the nose gives honeyed nectarine and white peach with background oak spice and fresh nougat. The palate has an underlying thread of honeyed stone fruits and green apple with a rolling mineral edge that balances the wines richer notes, to finish there are subtle cashew and lanolin framed by considerable mouthfeel and length to finish. Reminiscent of Chablis in style with a few years under the belt, this will continue to evolve over time. |
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2015 Chardonnay93 Points - Wine Front
It’s rich. It’s full bodied. It’s a crooner, and a good one. Ripe yellow peach meets sweet, spicy oak. The flavour here has a lushness – and it sustains the show all the way through to a satisfying finish. I thought there was a little too much oak at first, and some will think there is, but I looked at it over a period of time and concluded that it just needs some extra time in bottle. It’ll never be a shrining violet though. It’s a silken chardonnay – with plenty of attitude. 94 Point - Wine Reviewer This is the second release from Lyons Will Estate, the wines are crafted from their estate vineyard in Lancefield which is planted to 2.3 acres of Chardonnay and 2.7 acres of Pinot Noir. The wines are representative of exceptional cool climate viticulture and meagre yields which in the most part are a pre-requsite to grow grapes in the Macedon Ranges. The wine was barrel fermented and spent 16 months maturing in french oak of which 35% was new, with time in oak and on lees helping to provide a rich tapestry of complexity but in no way being the star of the show. Quality cool climate fruit shines though with the nose awash with white peach and nectarine that’s backed by a touch of flint. The palate is well proportioned with stone fruits and fig with flashes of wood spice before a mealy, savoury texture drives structure and focus to finish. Drinking well now, and will continue to evolve over the medium term. 91 Points - James Halliday The fruit that was grown for this wine was of high quality, as was the oak (fermented and matured in French oak, 35% new) but it should have been removed and bottled (or held in tank) after 11 months, not 16. I can imagine others disputing this, and so be it. Moreover, the end result is far from shabby. |