New ‘Mystery’ Reserve Chardonnay 2025 RRP $41

You will receive the proper labelled version, the “mystery” logo is for illustration purposes only.

Why Is the Brand a Mystery?

The winery normally sells this wine at a significantly higher price.

Advertising its name beside our $26 offer could undermine its usual retail pricing and create problems for the winery and other retailers selling the same wine at its proper market value.

Keeping the label hidden on our website allows us to pass on the saving without publicly devaluing the brand.

Once your order arrives, the mystery is revealed. Every bottle is supplied with its genuine winery label, original packaging and stated 2025 vintage.

Reviews and Accolades

95 Points: Ray Jordan

Ray Jordan recognised the quality of the wine’s Wilyabrup vineyard and its considerable concentration.

His review found an intense combination of lemon and grapefruit accompanied by a smoky, struck-stone character. Despite its power, the palate remained tightly shaped, energetic and clearly defined rather than broad or heavy.

Mineral and savoury qualities added complexity through the finish, while finely controlled acidity sustained the wine’s impressive length.

Jordan regarded it as a polished and expressive Margaret River Chardonnay and suggested it could be cellared for up to nine years.

94 Points: Halliday Wine Companion

The Halliday Wine Companion found a Chardonnay with considerable flavour and intensity, combining polished oak and lees-derived creaminess with citrus, smoke and savoury complexity.

Richness from cedar, butter and creamy lees was balanced by lively acidity, preventing the palate from becoming too broad or soft.

Grapefruit provided freshness and bite, while flinty and woodsmoke characters contributed greater depth.

The review also indicated that the wine remains youthful and tightly structured, with further integration expected as it develops in bottle.

Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Bright pale gold with youthful green highlights.
• Aromatics: Concentrated grapefruit, lemon and stone fruit are layered with floral notes, smoky flint, wet stone and subtle toasted oak.
• Palate: Powerful and deeply flavoured, with citrus and yellow stone fruit supported by creamy lees and gentle buttery richness.
• Oak: French oak contributes cedar, toast and delicate sweet spice, but remains controlled by the wine’s fruit and acidity.
• Texture: Lees maturation gives the middle palate creaminess and breadth, while fine phenolic texture provides additional shape.
• Minerality: Flint, wet stone and savoury mineral characters create complexity and prevent the wine from feeling overly fruity.
• Acidity: Brisk natural acidity runs directly through the palate, maintaining tension and keeping its considerable richness in balance.
• Finish: Long, detailed and persistent, with lingering grapefruit, smoky minerals, fine oak and refreshing acidity.

Wine Details

• Vintage: 2025
• Variety: 100% Chardonnay
• Region: Margaret River, Western Australia
• Sub-region: Wilyabrup
• Vineyard: Established single vineyard
• Clones: Dijon-clone Chardonnay
• Soil: Ironstone, pea gravel and loam
• Harvesting: Handpicked during the cool of the morning
• Pressing: Whole-bunch pressed
• Fermentation: Natural wild fermentation in French oak
• Oak: 100% French oak barrels
• New oak: Approximately 31%
• Seasoned oak: Approximately 69%
• Maturation: 10 months on lees
• Lees stirring: Conducted during the early stages of maturation
• Malolactic fermentation: None
• Residual sugar: 0 g/L
• Alcohol: 13.0%
• pH: 3.35
• Acidity: 7.14 g/L
• Closure: Screwcap
• Serving temperature: Approximately 10 to 12°C
• Cellaring: Ray Jordan recommends up to nine years

A Single-Vineyard Wilyabrup Chardonnay

The fruit comes from a single vineyard in Wilyabrup, toward the northern end of the Margaret River wine region.

Wilyabrup has an outstanding reputation for Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Its gravelly soils, warm sunshine and strong maritime influence allow Chardonnay to develop excellent flavour concentration while retaining the acidity required for balance and long-term development.

The vineyard is planted on a mixture of ironstone, pea gravel and loam. These free-draining soils naturally restrict excessive vine growth, helping the vines concentrate their energy into a smaller crop of intensely flavoured grapes.

Dijon-clone Chardonnay contributes citrus, stone fruit, structure and fine acidity. The established vines provide the concentration required for a powerful wine, while the Wilyabrup site retains enough freshness to prevent that power from becoming excessive.

The result is a recognisably northern Margaret River style: concentrated and generously flavoured, but still mineral, savoury and tightly structured.

The 2025 Margaret River Vintage

The 2025 growing season in Margaret River was warm and dry, creating excellent conditions for ripening Chardonnay.

The season produced fruit with considerable concentration and flavour intensity, particularly across stone fruit, apple and citrus characters.

Importantly, the grapes retained strong natural acidity. This allowed the winemaker to produce a Chardonnay with depth and richness while preserving the tension, freshness and linear shape highlighted by both major reviewers.

The finished wine reflects that balance. It has the fruit weight and oak structure expected of a Reserve Chardonnay, but it remains precise, energetic and clearly defined.

Winemaking

The Chardonnay was handpicked during the cool of the morning, helping protect its delicate aromatics and natural acidity.

Whole bunches were then gently pressed to extract the finest juice while limiting coarse phenolics from the skins, seeds and stems.

The juice was transferred directly into a combination of new and seasoned French oak barrels. Fermentation began naturally with indigenous yeast rather than a single commercially selected yeast strain.

Wild fermentation can introduce additional flavour and textural complexity, contributing the smoky flint, wet stone and savoury qualities found in this wine.

Approximately 31% of the barrels were new, with the remainder comprising second and third-use French oak. This proportion gives the wine enough new oak to build structure, toast and spice while preventing the wood from covering the fruit.

The wine remained in barrel on its lees for 10 months.

Lees stirring was used during the first few months to broaden the middle palate and build creaminess. The barrels were then allowed to settle, protecting the natural fruit and preserving the wine’s tightly controlled structure.

What Is Lees Maturation?

Lees are the fine yeast particles that remain after fermentation has finished.

Leaving Chardonnay in contact with these particles can add body, texture and savoury complexity. Gentle stirring, known as bâtonnage, increases this contact and can create flavours or textures associated with cream, pastry, nuts and bread dough.

In this wine, lees maturation helps balance the strong grapefruit acidity and smoky mineral character.

It produces a creamier middle palate without making the Chardonnay soft or excessively buttery.

Why Was Malolactic Fermentation Prevented?

Malolactic fermentation is a secondary process that converts sharper malic acid into softer lactic acid.

It is commonly used to create rounder, richer Chardonnays and can contribute buttery flavours.

This wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation. Retaining its original malic acidity helped preserve the brisk citrus character and tightly controlled structure that impressed both reviewers.

The wine still has creaminess and subtle buttery richness, but these qualities primarily come from ripe fruit, French oak and extended lees contact rather than softened acidity.

In everyday terms, it has the flavour and texture of a powerful Chardonnay while retaining the freshness and tension of a more restrained style.

Serving and Cellaring

Serve this Chardonnay at approximately 10 to 12°C.

A normal household refrigerator is usually set between 3 and 5°C, which is too cold for a wine with this much concentration and complexity. If it has been stored in the refrigerator, remove it approximately 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

When served too cold, the smoky flint, creamy lees, oak and stone fruit characters will be harder to detect.

Use a normal white wine glass with a reasonably wide bowl rather than a very small or narrow glass. The additional space allows its citrus, smoke and oak-derived aromas to open.

When drinking it young, either leave the opened bottle for around 20 to 30 minutes or briefly decant it. This is particularly worthwhile because both reviews indicate that the wine is still tightly structured and should become more harmonious with air and bottle age.

Ray Jordan suggests it can cellar for up to nine years. For most drinkers, we expect the most rewarding period to be between approximately 2027 and 2032, when the primary grapefruit and stone fruit should become more integrated with the oak and lees characters.

With longer maturation, expect the wine to develop greater nuttiness, toast, honey and savoury complexity.

Food Pairing 

• Roast chicken: Creamy lees and French oak complement roasted poultry, while the acidity keeps the pairing fresh.
• Grilled crayfish or lobster: The wine has enough weight for rich shellfish, with grapefruit and minerality balancing butter-based sauces.
• Pan-fried fish: Barramundi, snapper or salmon work beautifully with its citrus, texture and savoury finish.
• Pork belly: Strong acidity cuts through the richness, while the oak and creamy texture complement the meat.
• Creamy pasta: Try it with mushroom, chicken or seafood pasta finished with cream or Parmesan.
• Roast cauliflower: Toasted cauliflower, hazelnuts and browned butter complement its oak, lees and nutty complexity.
• Soft cheese: Brie, Camembert and triple-cream cheeses suit its concentration and lively acidity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What wine will I receive?

You will receive the genuine 2025 Reserve Chardonnay in its original bottle with the proper winery label.

The mystery logo is used only on our website so the producer’s identity is not publicly connected to the discounted price.

Is this a cleanskin wine?

No. It is a fully labelled Reserve Chardonnay from an established Western Australian producer.

It is the same wine normally sold under the winery’s own brand at its usual retail price.

Why can’t you reveal the winery?

Publicly advertising the producer beside such a heavily discounted price could affect its normal retail market and create difficulties for other businesses selling the wine at full price.

The mystery format allows us to protect the brand while passing the saving on to our customers.

What is the normal retail price?

The winery currently lists the wine at $41 per bottle.

Our mystery price is $26, saving you $15 per bottle and placing it almost 40% below the recommended retail price.

Is it heavily oaked?

The wine has noticeable French oak, but it is supported by concentrated fruit, brisk acidity and mineral structure.

Approximately one-third of the oak was new. The remaining barrels had been used previously, providing gentle oxygen exposure and texture without contributing as much overt oak flavour.

It is best suited to drinkers who enjoy serious, barrel-fermented Margaret River Chardonnay rather than very light, unoaked styles.

Is this a buttery Chardonnay?

It has some butter and creamy lees character, but it is not a soft or excessively buttery Chardonnay.

The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation, so its natural acidity remains bright and firm. This gives it a fresher and more tightly structured feel.

What does gunflint mean?

Gunflint describes a smoky, struck-stone aroma sometimes found in premium Chardonnay.

It is often associated with wild fermentation and reductive winemaking. In small amounts, it adds savoury complexity and contrasts with the wine’s ripe citrus and stone fruit.

What does whole-bunch pressing do?

Whole bunches of grapes are placed directly into the press without first being crushed or destemmed.

This gentle method extracts fine juice while limiting harsher phenolics from the skins and seeds. It can help produce Chardonnay with greater purity, elegance and cellaring potential.

Can I drink it now?

Yes, although it remains youthful and tightly structured.

Remove it from the refrigerator 15 to 20 minutes before serving and give it approximately 20 to 30 minutes in a decanter or large glass.

How long can I cellar it?

Ray Jordan recommends cellaring it for up to nine years.

For most drinkers, the period between 2027 and 2032 should provide an excellent balance between fresh fruit, integrated oak and developing savoury complexity.