2024 Harewood Flux-III Chardonnay, Great Southern

The 2024 Flux III Chardonnay leads with a coastal/maritmine nose that is layered with soft herbs and white orchard fruit. In the mouth, this Chardonnay has lovely saline acidity, a very soft/delicate texture and an attractive lemony flow through the middle and back palate. There is purity here, and it looks gorgeous. I will say, I've always been a (huge) fan of the Harewood Rieslings—they are truly one of the unsung heroes of Western Australia—and have found some of the other wines, while good, less impressive. The Flux wines were introduced around 2015 (if memory serves, the vineyard-data-generated labels caused a stir, as they were some of the first of their kind in Western Australia), and I've been up and down on the wines/varieties in bottle, though very supportive of the project and indeed the region. This wine is a magnificent example of Denmark Chardonnay—distinct from Margaret River, Pemberton and Porongurup (the other excellent Chardonnay regions in Western Australia)—and I love the way the fruit behaves, especially in what was a record-breaking hot and dry vintage. A lot to say, it's recommended. Drink to 2034.

95 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, June 2026

Lots of peach, lots of honeydew melon, a vigorous shake of brown spice, a touch of toffee, clove and cedar here. There's richness to texture, but a very bright line of saline acidity makes things perkier and livelier. A bit of green mango bitterness follows through. It's a charismatic, four-square style, but ease of drinking and depth of fruit elevates the offering.

93 points Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025

Pale straw yellow hue. Waxy yellow grapefruit and honeysuckle aromatics. Zippy and lively, grapefruit, green apple and cashew notes ride a wave of crunchy acidity. Good length, fresh throughout and likely to gain further depth with time. Drink to 2037.

92 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, December 2025

Winemaker James Kellie’s years as a contract winemaker for growers across the Great Southern region gave him unique insights into its diversity and potential. His love for the region led him to purchase a former client, Harewood Estate, in 2003 with his wife Careena. This commitment came with building a winery from scratch and a clear ambition: to make wines that reflect the full breadth of the Great Southern rather than a single corner of it.

This wine was made with estate grown fruit from the maritime Denmark subregion of the Great Southern, fermented in Burgundian oak barrels with free run juice and allowed full malolactic conversion.