Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

100/100 - Having tasted five bottles of this remarkable wine over the past year (most of them mine), I can confirm that it is evolving and changing with time in the bottle, but each time I taste it, I am amazed by its ability to highlight parts of the wine I may not have focused on the last time I tasted it. Twice this week, the 2021 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay has spoken first of its reduction and flint: it is bony and austere and taut, and I mean this in the best of ways. It speaks of its architecture currently, over its fruit. Yet it is propelled by the fruit. Giaconda manages focus and precision alongside its famous reduction, and this is what separates it from other producers in the country. It may be easy to can the reduction if it's not your preferred quality in Chardonnay, but the fruit and phenolic focus of the wine is untouchable. This is inimitable. I'm running out of bottles to taste, but I've loved every single one so far. - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate

100/100 - A sensational Giaconda Chardonnay in 2021 - one that above all conveys both a precise sense of place and winemaking signature, offering nothing short of exceptional drinking pleasure both now and into the future. A dominant struck match and smoky, flint, mineral reduction on the nose clears to reveal an intense aromatic display - half wild, woody and herbal, half fruity and pristine with peach, white flowers, lemon, green apple and dried herbs. Smooth and round in the mouth, fully textured with incredible depth - at first sharp, mouthwateringly juicy and lively, then concentrated and expansive with hints of tropical pineapple, zesty citrus and soft savoury spice aspects. Perfectly weighted, balanced and harmonious but constantly evolving with time in the glass - nuanced and interesting with grip, tension and energy alongside wisps of warming, toasted oak which adds another dimension and layer of flavour. Beautifully delineated - there is power here no doubt, but this has personality and the most enrapturing stoniness that lingers on the lifted finish. Effortless and totally moreish - a fabulous wine with the only downside in that it’s made in such small quantities! - Georgie Hindle, Decanter

98+/100 - The 2021 Chardonnay shows fantastic definition, power and length. Pithy aromas of musky peach, nougat, flint, gunpowder and granitic minerality frame this wine, leaning heavily on earth tones. Chewy in texture, this is like a mini-2017—incredibly long and tight, with the depths of its charms yet to be unveiled. A backbone of chalky acidity maintains tension and holds shape through the exceptionally long finish. - Angus Hughson, Vinous 

97/100 - A glossy chardonnay that plays the reductive hand of match-struck flintiness on the nose. Delving deeper, white grape, fig, green plum, cantaloupe and peach. Distinctly mid-weighted, but more tightly furled than in the past, there is ample tension as much as intensity. I appreciate the chewy seams, too, imparting an additional element of complexity to the structural lattice of mineral pungency and granitic freshness. A tad green, to be critical, but an excellent wine in all. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. - Ned Goodwin MW, JamesSuckling.com