2022 Xanadu Stevens Road Chardonnay, Margaret River

This is generally a fine and more delicate Chardonnay compared to the Reserve. It works really well in this season, striking the balance between power and finesse. More citrussy than the Reserve with notes of stone fruit, popcorn and just a little oyster shell minerality. The crystalline palate is bright and lively with a deep intensity focused keenly to a long finish. Wonderful mouthfeel.

98 points Ray Jordan winepilot.com

The 2022 season in Margaret River was warm and short, and the wines have been nutty, luxurious and richly flavored. Vineyard positioning impacts the way the wines taste, and this Xanadu Steven's Road vineyard is in a cooler pocket, just slightly to the southwest of Margaret River town. Winemaker Glenn Goodall deliberately prevents malolactic fermentation—it has become part of the house style—and this lends race and pace to the wines. So, this 2022 Stevens Road Chardonnay is spicy, nutty and electric and runs with an austere acid line. It courses through the tributaries of the fruit and enlivens the wine. This acidity can render the wines austere in their youth, but as older wines, they evolve into toasty, mineral, spicy iterations of their younger selves. Xanadu Chardonnays are exciting wines for the cellar. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap

96 points robertparker.com

Pale Straw. The bouquet of this elegant Chardonnay displays delicate white fleshed stone fruits, citrus and floral characters with underlying hints of sea spray and wet stone adding complexity. The sophisticated palate is medium bodied, offering white peach and lemon/lime flavours with a wonderful saline tang. A crystalline, mineral structure combines with bracing acidity focussing the wine to a crisp, lingering finish.

A modern, refined style of Chardonnay, displaying classic Margaret River hallmarks. The 2022 Stevens Road Chardonnay is a wine which, while drinking well in its youth will certainly reward with careful cellaring, developing further complexity from bottle maturation.