2022 Cherubino Dijon Chardonnay, Karridale Margaret River

The 2022 Dijon Wychwood Vineyard Chardonnay is austere, tight and powerful. It's an interesting thing, the combination of the warm vintage in a cool area. It can bring both elements into focus. This is a very good wine. There are notes of savory peach, lemongrass, sandalwood and malt biscuits. The Dijon clones perform so differently in the mouth than the Gingin clone does—this has a linearity and firmness. 12% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

To suggest that Larry Cherubino makes a prodigious amount of wine would be both correct and a gentle understatement. However, he and his winemaking team (not to be overlooked or underestimated) are responsible for a huge number of very high quality wines, as are evidenced in this report. The Chardonnays are routinely made in a full-bodied, plush style, which is created by winemaking rather than later picking dates. The wines are enveloping, rich, balanced and opulent, in many cases, yet always classy. The Cabernets are often supported by a profusion of very high quality French oak. They offer cellaring propositions of the highest order, emphasized by Larry's access to very high quality fruit and very high attention to detail in his vineyards. The wines included in this report are his Margaret River wines, but he also makes a collection of wines from the Great Southern. The "plus" signs in the scores here indicate that the wines will be better with time.

92+ points EL robertparker.com

Flinty, citrus leaf and crushed mineral aromas. Smokey, toasty flavours and a long, fine acidity.