Expressive and powerful with citrus, yellow stone fruit and flinty reduction, showing lovely mineral tension and focus. The palate is tightly wound yet generous, with a rounded core of fruit balanced by chalky phenolic grip and a bright acidity that drives the long, mouthwatering finish. Impressive depth and precision with the structure to age for decades. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
97 points - Ryan Montgomery
The latest pair of Kevin John Legacy Chardonnays, from the 2025 vintage, have just been released. There was only one puncheon of each, just 646 bottles. While this might seem an expensive Australian Chardonnay, this sort of money is not going to go far if you look at what you'd have to pay in Burgundy to get anywhere near this quality. These are special wines. I'm certainly not the only person to have raved about the glorious 2023 vintage in Margaret River, but now it seems as though 2025 is likely to at least match it – don't you just love it when you get the ‘vintage of a lifetime’ come along so regularly? Word has it that 2026 is yet another extraordinary year, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. The vines here were harvested on a biodynamic fruit day with the bunches transferred to a beeswax-lined clay amphorae for two days before pressing. The juice was transferred to a biodynamic puncheon on a flower day to complete fermentation and where it spent the following seven months. I know that some will look at any discussion of fruit days and flower days and think this is all ‘box of frogs’ stuff, but the reality is that these are wines of the absolute highest standard. You can't knock the results.
A pale straw/green hue, the nose offers notes of cumquats, florals, mandarins, crushed herbs, stonefruits, spices and citrus with a meagre hint of deft oak handling also evident. Simply, this is one of those noses one could smell for hours before even getting around to taking a sip. There is focus and intensity here, immaculate balance, a wonderfully seductive texture and a line of fine acidity through to a long and lingering finish. Well cellared, this should provide immense pleasure for the next fifteen years.
97 points - Ken Gargett
The second part of the twin release of Legacy Series Kevin John Chardonnays comes from this small but excellent vintage. It initially follows the same line as the Full Moon Fruit Day Chardonnay, with hand-picking on a biodynamic fruit day, followed by whole-bunch pressing to oak for fermentation. However, it was then matured in new biodynamic puncheons for seven months before bottling. So, it receives more oak influence, but this still doesn't compromise what is a very pure, undiluted expression of the vintage and the vineyard. On the nose, there are some nice, lightly vanillin characters, with light stone fruit and quince. The palate is relatively more rounded than its twin, but still has the fine, precise elegance and delicacy that mark the wine. There's also a degree of texture that adds another dimension. Simply exceptional.
98 points - Ray Jordan
Pale colour. Beautiful ripe peach, apricot aromas with grapefruit, tonic water notes. Supple and creamy textured with ripe stonefruit, grapefruit flavours, a touch of underlying marzipan/ tonic water notes and fresh long minerally acidity. Lovely textures, energy and freshness well showing superb concentration, buoyancy and fruit complexity. Gorgeous wine. Drink now – keep for a while and more. 13.5% alc
97 points - Andrew Caillard MW
