TASTING NOTES FOR Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay Margaret River Western Australia 2024

🍷 Appearance

Pale gold with brilliant clarity and vibrant luminosity, reflecting the concentration and elegance of this iconic Margaret River Chardonnay.

👃 Aromas

Complex aromas of white peach, nectarine and citrus blossom are layered with notes of grapefruit, struck flint, cashew, nougat and finely integrated French oak. Highly expressive and refined.

👅 Palate

Powerful yet beautifully controlled, delivering concentrated flavours of stone fruit, lemon curd and citrus supported by subtle savoury complexity and premium oak. The palate is precise, layered and exceptionally balanced with remarkable intensity.

🍈 Texture & Finish

Silky and textured with outstanding depth and drive. Fine acidity provides freshness and structure, leading to a long, elegant finish with lingering citrus, mineral and subtle oak nuances.

🍇 Overall Style

A benchmark Margaret River Chardonnay that combines purity, power and finesse. Sophisticated and cellar-worthy, it showcases the exceptional quality and pedigree for which Heytesbury Chardonnay is renowned.

🍽️ Food Pairing

Perfect with lobster, scallops, roast chicken, premium seafood, pork dishes with apple, creamy pasta and mature soft cheeses.

⭐ BBD Verdict

One of Australia’s great Chardonnays, delivering exceptional complexity, precision and elegance. A world-class wine that beautifully balances richness and restraint, offering outstanding drinking now and excellent cellaring potential.

‘Dare I say it, but this could be the finest Heytesbury yet.’

. 99 Points

An extraordinary wine of tension, energy and power. It’s the result of the earliest vintage on record at Vasse Felix, with the fruit being picked on 17 January. It’s a wine of power and generosity, yet the subtle secondary characters in here really do strike a complex note. It’s made predominantly from the Gingin clone and shows generosity, but typically lively acidity is there, and that wild fermentation adds richness and density. The aromas are a mix of brioche, subtle lemon curd, and cashew. But then there’s a bright minerality. The palate is almost lavish, yet it’s held tightly with that fine linear precision and crisp acidity. These wines have certainly become slightly more generous in recent years and allow the full expression of the Gingin clone from these distinct sites. It’s another outstanding wine. Dare I say it, but this could be the finest Heytesbury yet.

Ray Jordan The WA Wine Review 2026, 12 Nov 2025

• 98Points

‘A reference Margaret River Chardonnay.’

98 Points

Pale colour. Lovely pure grapefruit nectarine tonic water aromas with hints of marzipan. Supple and minerally with ample grapefruit, lemon curd, nectarine flavours, fine looseknit chalky textures, attractive mid palate richness, a touch of vanilla/ marzipan and underlying saline/ crunchy acidity. Super long and tangy at the finish, giving the wine freshness and mineral length. Will develop further with bottle age. A reference Margaret River Chardonnay. Maturation in French oak barriques (85%) and puncheons (15%). Roughly 53% new and 47% seasoned barrels for 10 months and a further 6 months in tank. Drink now – 2040.

The Vintage Journal, 16 Apr 2026

• 98Points

‘The stage is set for one exciting Heytesbury Chardonnay production.’

98 Points

On paper, the 2024 vintage hits a lot of firsts: it was the earliest on record (starting January 17) after the warmest and earliest spring in the winery’s history. In the glass, the vintage delivers one hell of a Chardonnay: rich, complex and yet finely balanced. It could balance on a pin such is the wine’s near perfect composition and keenly detailed acidity. At this very young stage of its evolution it brings forward deep, complex aromas honeyed and leesy rich with honeysuckle and citrus blossom, citrus and stone fruits with the odd hint of tropical fruit, alpine herbs and buttered biscuit. They gather on the palate, taut and powerful, crisp and utterly convincing. It’s early days but the excitement factor is already high. Flavours are enriched by saline notes, toasted nuts, lime peel and a sprinkling of ginger and herbs producing a wine evenly brisk paced and lightly creamy in texture. The stage is set for one exciting Heytesbury Chardonnay production.

Wine Pilot, 31 Mar 2026

• 97Points

‘The balance of fruit tension is fantastic…’

97 Points

The balance of fruit tension is fantastic, with aromas of lemon confit, oatmeal, white mushrooms, crushed stones, jasmine, green melon and citrus blossoms. The palate is mid-weighted with tightly woven texture, fine-boned acidity and a lovely phenolic grip intertwining oak and fruit. It’s generous, yet retains all the tension and salinity typical of Margaret River. Don’t be misled by the fruit concentration. There’s still freshness and minerality throughout. Excellent. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

JamesSuckling.com, 30 Nov 2025

• 96Points

‘Quality-wise, all over, it’s the bomb.’

96 Points

The winemaking is good. The wine growing is good. And the sites are outstanding. The season might challenge, but the quality doesn’t waver. This is, without doubt, an outstanding release of Heytesbury Chardonnay. The intensity of fruit flavour is as exquisite as it is impressive; the texture itself has a presence to it; the flintiness sits within the fruit as much as it rises above it. It’s a parade of grapefruit, white peach, oatmeal and mineral-like flavour, with smoked hay and cedar-cream characters as modest and integrated assistants. Quality-wise, all over, it’s the bomb. The drama of the finish – and its persistence – is the ultimate confirmation.

The Wine Front, 31 Mar 2026

• 96Points

‘This has one of those beautiful “ohhh” openings.’

96 Points

This has one of those beautiful “ohhh” openings. Pretty and bright, with cinnamon, white flowers, fine cedar, almond meal and green apple sitting high-toned and pure. Things deepen with air as pithy white grapefruit asserts itself into the mix along with crushed rock minerality, sea spray and flickers of nutty nougat. Some cashew and lemon juice in there too — an arresting opening indeed. The palate has great concentration, bursting with white peach, cinnamon, white grapefruit, pear, sea spray, lemon juice and pith. There’s gorgeous flow and energy as it glides through the mouth inside a frame of saline acidity and chalky phenolic grip, with length for days thanks to waves of rolling acidity. Outstanding – Virginia Wilcock and the team have done it again.

Cheers

Peter Turnbull

Better Buy The Dozen