From the 87 wines submitted to Decanter Magazine UK for their Vic/Tas Chardonnay tasting, our 2016 Gladysdale Chardonnay was awarded 95 points – the highest scoring Yarra Valley wine and only 1 of 3 wines awarded an ‘Outstanding’ result (the equivalent of a Gold medal). An incredible achievement, and at more than £10 a bottle less than the other two wines – a bargain too! This wine will be released in Australia and the UK (through Oddbins) in 2018.
Excerpt from the article below, or the full article can be downloaded here.
‘Husband and wife duo Adrian and Rebecca Santolin only started making their own wine in 2012, but it didn’t take long before they started to be awarded numerous accolades. Adrian is head winemaker, while Rebecca manages the business. The Chardonnay is produced from fruit grown on a single block at the Willowlake Vineyard in Gladysdale, Upper Yarra Valley, and the philosophy is to make wines with minimal intervention – in this wine a small portion of the grapes are fermented on the skins to add texture and mouthfeel. The wine was tasted under the name ‘Willowlake Vineyard,’ which is to be changed to ‘Gladysdale.’
The judges notes:
Giles Cooke MW: This is tempting, complex, with nutty wood and ripe citrus fruit aromas. Lovely weight on the palate with continued ripe, well balanced fruit, integrated complex oak and great length.
Roger Jones: Tastes far more mature than a 2016, but delivers well. Lovely balance of flavours, layers of complexity, deliverinng exceptionally well now with it honeyed, toasty brioche nuance and precise stone fruit.
Anthony Rose: Fine nose with an appealing nuttiess, followed by a lively yet opulent stone fruit quality criss-crossed with an appetising, leesy character. Although youthful and elemental, it’s already showing the promise that a year or two’s age seems destined to deliver.
