Giant Steps Applejack Chardonnay 2017

I’m sure you know by now that we’re fans of Giant Steps. 2017 appears to have been a giant leap for this brand. Steve Flamsteed and his team have quietly ramped up followership over the past few years, by delivering consistent improvements on already very good wines, and refining their focus. It’s Yarra Valley, pinot and chardonnay, and some shiraz (from Yarra, the Vale and Pyrenees), in that order. 

Go to the cellar door, look at the winery. Study it. There are open stainless fermenters, stainless tanks, a bladder press or two, and barriques. It’s not complicated. Gravity is used whenever possible, pumps (the gentle, peristaltic ones) are used sparingly. Everything’s meticulously clean, even mid-vintage. The care is self-evident. Screams of OCD, and between Phil and Steve, I don’t think there’s much room for error. 

Limiting such variables creates the perfect conditions for wine to flourish, to become the greatest version of itself, under watchful, thoughtful eyes. Such as this chardonnay. This is the first time that the Applejack chardonnay has been pulled out of the Estate as a single vineyard wine, and we’re glad for that decision.

At the Tasting Bench, anyone who tasted this had that kind of sheepish look that said ‘I get paid to do this’. “Lemon meringue pie”, “vibrant” and “textured” were some of the phrases thrown about. It’s citrus-apple core is matched to such a long, layered, subtly oatmealy fabric that it’s almost ludicrous. It’s like sampling the flavour of someone adeptly walking a tightrope stretched between two cloudy horizons. As in, it goes on a long time. And you don’t want it to stop. Sadly, it does eventually - joyfully, that means you need to take another sip.

We’re just waiting for the genie who made that packet of never-ending TimTams to show up now.