The 2022 Chardonnay Cuvée Anne comes from several vineyards (Justice, Koosah, Sojeau and Witness Tree) located on both volcanic and marine sedimentary soils. It was fermented and aged in 45% new, 350- and 500-liter barrels for 12 months, plus an additional four months in stainless steel. The nose presents deep, savory scents of matchstick, roasted almonds, honey, pastry and golden apples. The light-bodied palate offers concentrated flavors that are more open and expansive than the nose at this stage. It has a seamless spine of acidity that drives its flavors into a long finish and calls you back for another sip. Give it 2–3 years in bottle or a few hours in a decanter—it opens dramatically with air. (EB) 94+

Year after year, this continues to be one of the best entry wines to a range, and this vintage does not disappoint. Taking a bright yellow/green-tinged hue, the 2022 Chardonnay Cuvee is exceptional on the nose, with a calling card of flinty lift, bright green apples, salted lime candies, and fresh white flowers. Medium-bodied, with a fantastic texture, it’s so damn good, with balanced, ripe acidity and a pristine feel throughout. Crystalline and fresh, it will drink well over the coming 6-8 years. (AF)

The 2022 vintage of Cuvée Anne chardonnay from Walter Scott is made from fruit sourced from the vineyards of Justice, Koosah, Sojeau and Witness Tree this year. The wine is barrel-fermented and raised in three hundred-fifty and five hundred liter casks for one year, prior to blending and four months of finishing élevage in stainless steel. Forty-five percent of the oak was new in 2022. The wine is gently reductive when first poured and takes a little swirling to start to blossom, but once it opens up it offers a beautiful bouquet of apple, pear, fresh almond, iodine, a lovely foundation of soil tones, apple blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a beautiful core of fruit, fine soil undertow, zesty acids and impeccable balance on the long and vibrant finish. The 2022 Cuvée Anne is very tasty right out of the blocks, but has the underlying structure to also age long and gracefully.