Margaret River Chardonnay Triple Vertical, Heytesbury, Allingham & Chloe

[Waiters Friend]

Hello

Regular readers of this forum will recall that I have hosted the odd vertical wine tasting over the years. This time, my partner and I were invited to someone else’s.

In this case, it was not one, but 3 wines side by side, and wines with excellent reputations – Vasse Felix Heytesbury, Howard Park’s Allingham, and Woodlands Chloe chardonnays. These wines are in the $90-$110 per bottle range, and possibly only bettered in reputation by the Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood and Cullen chardonnays (slightly more expensive again).

Our very generous hosts, Mike and David, had put together every vintage of all three wines from 2019 to 2014. A group of 15 of us gathered to taste these wines from youngest to oldest, so, six brackets of three wines each. A vote for ‘wine of the bracket’ took place with ‘wine of the day’ voted at the end of proceedings.

All three of these wines are the ‘icon’ chardonnays from their makers, and are made in relatively small quantities (think 200 dozen as a rough average). So, while a house style can be aspired to, its likely that vintage variation will also show itself, and this proved to be the case.

Margaret River is a somewhat diverse region, and vineyard location was discussed. Both Vasse Felix and Woodlands are located in the heart of Willyabrup, whereas the Howard Park Allingham is sourced from a vineyard approximately 30km further south. Seasonal differences in picking dates result, and are impacted by weather events.

One of the other points of discussion during the tasting was the ageing potential of the wines. More of this later.

David and Mike determined prior to the tasting that each bracket should be tasting in order of: Heytesbury, Allingham, and Chloe. The premise was that we would be looking at the lighter wine first, through to the bigger wine. “Lighter” and “bigger” are of course relative terms when talking about these top-end chardonnays.

And so, onto the wines.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2019: Pale yellow in colour, bordering on straw. The nose initially was slightly buttery, but this changed in the glass. There’s lots of citrus here: grapefruit, lemon pith, and a struck match character. (This struck match character was consistent throughout the Heytesbury wines). Oak is present, but not at all dominating. The palate shows more tangy lemon, and has cleansing acid. Comparatively, this was a ‘light’ style of chardonnay. (2 votes)

Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2019: Pale yellow. On the nose, there is a combination of stone fruits and citrus, with savoury oak accompanying. The palate shows yellow peach, some lemon zest, and great freshening acid. Good length and a well balanced wine. (3 votes, including mine).

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2019: Pale yellow, very slightly darker than the Allingham. This is a richer wine than the previous two, with ripe juicy peaches, cashews and grapefruit behind the stone fruits. The palate is slightly buttery and mealy, with the old fashioned “peaches and cream” predominant. Oak is more apparent here than on the previous wines, and acid appears to be softer. Reasonable length. This was well regarded by the group and was voted Wine of the Bracket. (10 votes)

2018 is (in my opinion) likely to be the best vintage in Margaret River since 2011, and weather conditions were ‘textbook’. We therefore expected big things from these wines, and were not disappointed.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2018: Pale yellow (almost straw) with a green tinge. Characteristic struck match introduces the wine, followed by grapefruit, lemon and nectarine. The palate has excellent supporting acid, more citrus, and a nutty character. Like the 2019 Heytesbury, seems lighter in style (again, a relative term). (2 votes)

Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2018: Pale yellow in colour. The nose is complex, with lots of citrus, cashews, and brioche. The palate is also complex, with honeydew melon, grapefruit, lemon zest, and some vanilla. Excellent acid offset by a little creamy lees texture. Superb balance, and one taster described it as “seductive”. Highly regarded by the group, and Wine of the Bracket (8 votes).

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2018: Pale yellow. Lots of stone fruits on the nose, especially peaches in a range of colours. There’s cashew nuts also. The palate is showing lots of ripe peaches, balanced by powerful oak. Some vanilla as well, and some lees texture. This is the biggest of the three wines, and one taster described it as “voluptuous”.

2017 was a cooler vintage in Margaret River, and this shows in the wines. None were as rich and complex as their 2018 counterparts and fruit intensity particularly was lower.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2017: Similar colour to the previous two Heytesburies. More savoury, however, and the struck match character introduces the wine (again). Stone fruits are beginning to meld with the citrus. The palate has tangy lemon pith and grapefruit. Good acid providing freshness, and nutty oak in support. There’s a herbal, almost spearmint note and the wine finishes well. (6 votes)

Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2017: Pale yellow. There’s more citrus and less stone fruits here. Some cashew and savoury notes, and possibly nutmeg. The palate is unbalanced at this point, acid dominant and the fruit is not as powerful as previous vintages. Good length. (1 vote)

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2017: Pale yellow. The palate shows oak and stone fruits, and to my taste, is straightforward. The palate again appears to be lower acid than the other two wines, and the wine is starting to show signs of development. Personally, I wonder about the longevity of this wine; however, the majority of the group showed more confidence, and it is wine of the bracket (8 votes).

Chardonnay April 21 #1.jpg

The 2016 vintage was more forgiving than the 2017, and the wines reflect this.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2016: Light yellow in colour. The nose is nutty with citrus but stone fruits and melon are starting to show also. The palate has more honeydew melon and slight lees texture. Great acid and the wine is well balanced, and starting to show signs of development. (0 votes)

Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2016: Light yellow. The nose is superbly balanced, with stone fruits, citrus and oak all present but none dominating. The palate is complex, with peach, citrus, melon and cashews. Great length. This is in a really good place, with fruit, oak, acid and secondary development all in balance. Wine of the bracket (10 votes), and personally, my wine of the day.

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2016: Slightly darker than the other 2016s. Fruit has diminishes and the savoury oak characters dominate slightly (on nose and palate). The big peachy fruit that has been the dominant feature in previous vintages is still here, but overshadowed by the acid (which to my taste makes the wine slightly harsh in the mouth). Others felt differently. (5 votes).

For me, the 2015s didn’t show as well as the vintages around it. This may just be the stage of development these wines are at, and a by-product of a reasonable, but not outstanding vintage.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2015: Yellow in colour. A well balanced nose, with nutty, savoury notes alongside citrus and passionfruit. The palate was surprisingly full, yet with good supporting acid retaining freshness and zip to the wine. Nectarine sat nicely alongside the nutty oak, and the wine is very much in balance. (5 votes)

Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2015: Yellow. There’s a mix of stone fruits (peach, nectarine) with only a little citrus alongside the oak on the nose. The palate was more complex, with the fruit, oak and acid well meshed, and a touch of creaminess in texture (lees, presumably). Great length. (3 votes).

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2015: Deeper yellow than its 2015 counterparts. There’s peach and stone fruits as expected, but diminished compared to previous vintages. The palate has more of the peachy fruit, along with savoury oak and developed notes. It’s full in the mouth, but finishes slightly astringently. I could be nit-picking here, as it garnered 7 votes and wine of the bracket.

2014 produced a strong bracket of wines; in my opinion, much better than the 2015s.


Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2014: Yellow in colour. The nose showed a good balance between citrus and savoury but subtle oak – also signs of development (in a positive way). The palate had a slight hint of butter, offset by freshening acid, and lemon pith / zest. (4 votes).

Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2014: Yellow. Again, the nose showed that combination of citrus and stone fruits (more citrus) balanced by nutty oak. The fruit on the palate was a combination of grapefruit and stone fruits (nectarines, perhaps), and there’s good supporting acid and oak. Very well balanced and some lees texture. 7 votes and wine of the bracket.

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2014: Yellow, and possibly lighter in colour than the 2015 Chloe. Again, some peach and stone fruit alongside savoury notes on the nose. The palate was quite rich with peach fruit, with oak and acid in support. In my opinion, better than the 2015. (4 votes)

Chardonnay April 21 #2.jpg

It was then time to vote on Wine of the Day. This was voted from the six Wines of the Bracket, and the clear winner was the Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2018. In a way, it wasn’t a surprise that a 2018 should be the winner, given the acknowledged quality of the vintage.

Then came “the bonus round”. David and Mike had sourced a couple of slightly older wines, and generously poured these for the group. These wines were not voted on, just enjoyed:

Howard Park Allingham Chardonnay 2013: Deeper yellow in colour. Signs of development here with lemon cordial on the nose, alongside cedary oak. There’s lemon pith and zest still on the palate, with good supporting acid, and a slight tannic grip. A very long finish, and this wine belies its 8 years.

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2013: Deep yellow in colour. Ripe peach and stone fruits on the nose, with more of this on the palate. The acid seems lower than the Allingham, and oak is more noticeable, as are the signs of development with a slight astringency on the finish. (Nit-picking again!)

Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2012: Deep yellow. The fruit has diminished on this wine, with the savoury notes more apparent. The palate returns with ripe peaches with good supporting acid, and a little oak grip. Good length, but again, slight astringency on the finish.

A wonderful tasting indeed! There were a couple of themes that emerged:

House Style: As far as I know, all of the wines for each maker were made by the same winemaker, and, given the vagaries of vintage and the limitations of volumes, the hand of each winemaker is definitely present. The Heytesbury was the more obviously ‘citrus’ of the three, with the Chloe more in the peach spectrum, and with more apparent oak. The Allingham sits neatly between the two, and possibly shows a wider range of characteristics.

Balance: For me, it was a joy to find the wines that were very well balanced, and more so with age, where fruit, acid, oak, and development are all complementing each other perfectly. The ‘sweet spot’ is, of course, different for everyone, and for me, I found that sweet spot in the earliest vintages of the Chloe, more broadly and older in the Allingham, and oldest of all in the Heytesbury. Vintage variation comes into this, of course, and I didn’t find it much in the 2017 and 2015 vintages. This may change in a year or two to come, and may just be “the stage”.

Ageing potential: This is partially a product of house style and the maker’s hand. I found older vintages of the Chloe to be less satisfying than the earlier ones; conversely, the Heytesbury seemed to come into its own in the later vintages. For me, the Allingham showed the greatest satisfaction across the majority of vintages. When to drink these is, of course, subjective and according to individual taste. There was some discussion about the interaction with food as well, and this might change the equation as well.

We’re extremely grateful to Mike and David for hosting this tasting, and it was a pleasure to meet many of the group for the first time – hopefully not the last!

Cheers
Allan

[felixp21]

many thanks for a wonderful write-up.
MR really the premier region in Australia for both Chardonnay and Cabernet/blends IMO.
I still feel, however, Leeuwin at a different level to the above wines, I have never really warmed to Chloe, and have not seen too much of the Howard Park.
Leeuwin often gets bashed by the tall-poppy crowd, but it's performance over the past 40 years is surely an Aussie vinous marvel. IMO (again) this is our greatest wine, year-in, year-out, over that period.
The Cullen's top-shelf whites are exhilarating, but given they are priced at Burgundy GC levels, are an easy pass.

[TravisW]

Fantastic write up Allan. Many thanks for your time and expertise.
Note to self: Drink more MR Chardonnay.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Thanks for the notes Allan, much appreciated., especially the notes on house style and aging. FOr my own part I am very weak on MR Chardonnays, my only cellar bottles being Devil's Lair from the 2013 vintage. The winery spec sheet said it was a good vintage with a decade of maturing ahead, with peak drinking to 2025. I will have to check on one sometime soon.

[Waiters Friend]

Thanks for the notes Allan, much appreciated., especially the notes on house style and aging. FOr my own part I am very weak on MR Chardonnays, my only cellar bottles being Devil's Lair from the 2013 vintage. The winery spec sheet said it was a good vintage with a decade of maturing ahead, with peak drinking to 2025. I will have to check on one sometime soon.

I suggest you look at the Devils Lair 2013 sooner rather than 2025. It's in a nice place now and will hold for 2-3 more years. Don't overdo it.

[Chuck]

For me MR is the best area for this grape in OZ. I just love them and it's hard to find a bad example. While other areas are now producing wines in the more modern tighter leaner style MR keeps on keeping on. I still love the slight buttery flavours.