Vasse Felix Wines in 2021 James Halliday Wine Companion

We are thrilled with the stellar reviews of the Vasse Felix Wine Collection in the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion, released today.

Particularly excited to see the 2018 Heytesbury Chardonnay once again included in Halliday's Best of the Best by Variety, along with the 2016 TOM CULLITY Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec and 2018 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon.

The Margaret River Wine Region also performed exceptionally well as a whole in the 2021 Best of the Best by Variety accolades.

Of the 46 Australian Cabernet and Cabernet Blends which scored more the 97 points, a staggering 23 (exactly half) were produced in Margaret River. While the Chardonnay Best of the Best (54 total) included no less then 21 Margaret River Chardonnays. An incredible testament to the quality of this region's core varieties, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Keep reading to see Halliday's reviews of the Vasse Felix Wine Collection.

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2018 Heytesbury Chardonnay | 98 Points (Best of the Best by Variety)
"Heytesbury has always been a yin and yang wine. It has power, structure and depth yet can appear reticent in its youth. The fruit is fabulous. Wafts of lemon balm, ginger cream and spicy oak too but it is all about the palate - linear, long, super fine, a tight acid line, it has a crushed rock character with moreish flinty sulphides - the list goes on. Everything in sync. It’s one heck of a classy chardonnay." 

2016 TOM CULLITY | 97 Points (Best of the Best by Variety)
"It’s a pleasure to spend time with Tom Cullity. This is all about refinement. It has a presence and a whole lot of detail. The fruit savoury and sweet, the iodine and graphite character of the malbec infused into the DNA. There are also finely chiselled tannins, lively acidity and a length like no tomorrow. Sure there’s a power and energy, but the wine’s defining feature is elegance." 

2018 Chardonnay | 96 Points (Special Value Rating)
"This is a bit of rock ‘n’ roll that performs brilliantly in Vasse Felix’s chardonnay hierarchy. Perfect balance of flavours from grapefruit, lemon pith and delicate leesy-nutty characters with plenty of flint and saline. It’s linear, long and pure, with a riff of acidity that keeps the band together." 

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon | 95 Points
"Sure it has the exuberance of youth, but this will age gracefully. Full of raspberries and currants with a cranberry tang alongside menthol and oak playing a part, but not a lead role. Fine and poised tannins, although acidity is very much a driver this vintage, it’s refreshing and lively. And like seasoning in cooking, the glug of malbec and petit verdot adds another dimension."

2018 Filius Chardonnay | 92 Points
"The entry point into the Vasse Felix range of Chardonnays, one that less well endowed producers would happily present as their icon. Balance is the key, all the components in the right place at the right time. White peach, rock melon, apple and grapefruit all in harmonious balance, oak incidental." 

2017 Filius Cabernet Sauvignon | 96 Points (Special Value Rating)
"Bright crimson-purple; this has provenance written large across its visage, likewise purity. Restructuring of the Vasse Felix offers to the market has lifted, not compromised, this dark, fruit-filled cabernet."

2018 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon | 95 Points (Best of the Best by Variety)
"Sauvignon blanc leads this duet at 82% with almost half the blend spending time in a mix of French oak for 6 or so months. It’s a classy outcome. Superb balance of flavours, it has precision, length and line. A crisp, dry finish quite savoury with a phenolic edge adding another layer of complexity." 

2018 Shiraz | 95 Points
"Cabernet sauvignon might be the regional red darling, but sometimes shiraz stands proudly. Still in a restrained style with excellent fruit at its heart, a dusting of woodsy spices, black pepper with an iodine/ferrous note. Sandpaper tannins and poppy acidity go hand-in-hand."

2019 Classic Dry White | 92 points (Special Value Rating)
"..bright and as cheery as a summer's day" 

2019 Classic Dry Rosé | 90 points (Special Value Rating)
"Gently sweet red berry fruits.."

2018 Classic Dry Red | 91 Points (Special Value Rating)
"..invitingly fresh, perfectly poised with lots to offer."

For more on the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion click here or peruse the Wine Collection here.