Another vintage, another point under its belt! Sexton Vineyard has consistently garnered more and more acclaim with each vintage, this time snagging a slick 96 points for its ripping 2013 vintage - proving my claim that Phil Sexton really can do no wrong. I'm really struggling to head to any region besides the Yarra Valley for my Charddy fix lately- this is a brilliant example of why! Savoury smoky, struck match characters are front and centre but the primary fruit handles those sulphide-like features with aplomb. White stonefruits, apricot, lime and hard cheese all play a role with lemon curd and a fine but driving grapefruit spine providing the foundation. Oatmeal and brazil nuts become more apparent as it opens up. Extremely complex and a little unexpected…but in a delightful way.
Giant Steps wines are a distinct expression of special, individual sub-regional vineyards, focusing exclusively on single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sites throughout the Yarra Valley.
Naturally produced wines made without compromise with the objective of each wine being a faithful expression of site and vintage.
Campbell Mattinson: 96 (2013) Sunday night. Roast chicken. Glass or two of chardonnay. Long-held routine. Tonight it was Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay 2013. Tough job. "Concentration impresses from the outset. Not a chardonnay to mess with, but silken and lengthy and elegant at the same time. Almost sounds like a contradictory set of characteristics, though of course it’s not. Nectarine, milk-cream, pops of fennel and lime, peach, steel. Length. Sashays through the mouth. Superb.
Campbell Mattinson: 95 (2012) Boy. Shucks. This is lovely. Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay is on the up and up. I like this release. Indeed I love it. It’s all flint and smoke and long legs of fruit flavour. Green apple, yellow stonefruits, lime, lactose. Toasty oak glitters through the wine. It’s exquisitely delicious. A champion chardonnay.
James Halliday: 95 (2010) Light straw-green; the Sexton Vineyard is estate-owned, planted on the slopes of the Warramate Hills (also known as Steels Range) with a northern aspect. It is a wine of intensity and complexity, the flavours rising in steps rather like the topography of the vineyard, each sip revealing a new flavour sensation.
Don't Pay: $49.00
WBW Rating: 96/100
Closure: Stelvin
Region: Yarra Valley, VIC
Winemaker: Steve Flamsteed/Tim Shand
Drink now until: 2020
Alc/Vol: 13 %
