Yarra Valley Estate Grown Chardonnay 2010

"I used to drink quite a bit of this - my doctor would say too much - but I hadn't had one for a while and am delighted to say it's as good as ever. This is a restrained understated wine... more so than I remembered. It tastes of melons, nuts and citrus, is fine and silky in the mouth, and just downright enjoyable drinking."

Rick Allen, Hills Shire Times, January 2012

4 Stars
92 Points
"A refined, modern chardonnay of modest alcohol and shows little evidence of oak barrels. Medium yellow with stone-fruit aromas recalling peach and nectarine. Very delicate, light bodied and refreshing, refined and subtle."

Huon Hooke, Gourmet Traveller Wine, December 2011

94 Points
"The house style here is to go for texture in the mouth and they nailed it with a restrained aromatic opening yet amazingly fresh and exciting palate with citrus and crunchy grape flavours, a fine minerally line over the palate and a long and moreish finish. That's the style and it's most convincing."

Tony Love, Adelaide Advertiser, Herald Sun, November 2011

94 Points
"Pale quartz-green; there is some bright and healthy colour development; the bouquet is complex, but still open up fully. Winemaker Steve Webber has succeeded handsomely with his desire to make textural wines, as evident here as it is with a red wine. The textural play introduces layers of different flavour nuances with a mix of grilled nuts (not oak-derived), a waft of nectarine, and minerals."

James Halliday , Wine Companion, November 2011

93 Points
"This is a beautiful chardonnay, with impressive clarity and focus on both nose and palate. It smells of just-ripe peach and lemon citrus fruits, with hazelnut oak influence and gentle bready lees layered in too - really fresh. The palate's contained and composed, really toned down in it's fruit, all compressed into a smooth, textural style; gentle grip through the finish. A class act."

Nick Stock, Good Wine Guide 2012, October 2011

93 Points
"Restrained, with almost a dumbed-down fruitfulness to ensure a fine, gentle and savoury style, with a fresh, waxy scent of white flowers adding freshness and charm to its reserved aromas of grapefruit, pineapple and nutty, mealy oak. Long and supple, its gentle, but brightly lit palate plays down the entire length of it's palate, finishing with fresh, tangy acids."

Jeremy Oliver, The Australian Wine Annual 2012, October 2011

4.5/5
"SteveWebber and his team have achieved a harmonious marriage of top-quality Yarra Valley fruit and well-judged oak in this brassy gold, citrus- and pecan-scented white. It has ripe golden peach flavour on the front of the palate and introduces passionfruit, mineral and vanillin oak characters to the equation on the middle palate. The finish has refreshing slatey acid characters."

John Lewis, Newcastle Herald , September 2011

A portion of this wine spent time in a big bopper 5700 litre oak foudre which is
responsible for its nutty characters. Pristine stonefruit, melon and citrus on
the palate, lovely poise, bright acidity and a lingering finish.

Kerry Skinner, Illawarra Mercury, September 2011

Subtle nose, with clean acid, nice oak and fresh citrus characters. JD

Good example of how acid and fruit work together on the palate. AS

Jack Davis and Andrew Stubbs, National Liquor News, September 2011

94 Points
"Tightrope balance of complexity and unerring restraint with primary, chrunchy lemon, grapefruit, apple and pear offset by nuances of smoked bacon. The most taut under this label yet; a high strung frame of minerality and less flesh than a gymnast."

Tyson Stelzer, Wine 100, August 2011

4/5 Stars
90 Points
"Classically European smoky, white stone fruit. In the mouth tight, complex and seamless length. Delicate, savoury, finely structured but fully flavoured."

Robert Geddes, Australian Wine Vintages 2012, August 2011

★★★★
The concept of wine being too fruity may seem far-fetched for a product made from grapes – especially given Australia's export success with fruity, "sunshine in a bottle"wines. But Australia's best chardonnay makers, including De Bortoli's Steve Webber, headed down this less fruity path a decade or more ago. Webber writes, "Whilst it is important to have nuance of variety and oak, the characters of site, season, texture and minerality are
equally important to us." Webber's subtle, richly textured 2010 chardonnay is an affordable and excellent example of the style.

Chris Shanahan, Canberra Times, July 2011

94 Points
"...The hallmarks of it's quality are twofold: texture and finesse. It feels good as it patters along your tongue and then, just before it disappears down your throat, it begins to tip-toe it's way out through the finish. It does not lack flavour and it doesn't not lack length either, but it does have a delicate touch. It tastes of hazelnut and citrus, powdered milk and green nectarine / melon. It needs an extra year or two in the bottle but time will see it build. Decanting is advised."

Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, July 2011

91 Points
"Quite a beauty but so very young all the signs are there for a great wine in a year or three today?s tasting it?s a 91 but there are a few more points to come and I think well worth its $30."

Tony Keys, The Key Report, July 2011

"A much more flavoursome and complex wine than the previous two, with ripe stonefruit, dried fig, cashew and butterscotch notes, the palate lightly framed but juicy, intense and showing some finesse before a pleasingly
long, persistent finish."

Graeme Phillips, Sunday Tasmanian, July 2011