A reserved opening of melon to start before pithy white grapefruit, flint, green apple with some sweet cinnamon spice in support. Some air and warmth unlocks nougat, seaspray and a whisper of nectarine. The palate is quite taut, tensile and hightoned with a burst of grapefruit, salted lemon, subtle fine cedar, white nectarine and seaspray coiled within a tight line of pithy phenolics and saline acidity to good length. This is tight and fine with line, freshness and tension aching to unfurl.

Sliced apples, green pears, saltines, lemons, thyme and sea shells on the nose. Sharp and saline with a medium body. Mouthwateringly fresh and precise. Drink now or hold.

The 2023 Chardonnay hails from a mild to cool (and dry) season in Margaret River, one that, by all accounts, will be a superb vintage for Chardonnay. On the nose here, the wine leads with lemon butter and white peach, nashi pear and green apple, with brine, cashew nuts and spring flowers. The acidity in the mouth is typically intense in young Xanadu Chardonnay—part of the legacy of the house style that eschews malolactic fermentation—and so it presents as I would expect it to, in a season already imbued with zesty natural acids. There is plenty of race and pace in this wine, but there is some creaminess, too. It will be better in a few years, I believe, although much of this cuvée will be purchased and consumed early. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. (EL) 92+