Awards, Ratings & Reviews
94/100 — James Suckling · 2018 Vintage, Tasted: Jun 2020
“Very complex, rich and suave notes of grilled peaches, grapefruit and lemons arrive with a savory overlay of spiced biscuit and grilled hazelnut. The palate has a neat, fine and flinty feel with a smooth delivery of crisp, lemon and peach flavors. Drink or hold.”
93+/100 — Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front · 2018 Vintage, May 2017
“Compared with the Estate Chardonnay, the intensity goes up a notch, so too the richness, so too the extension of flavour through the finish. This is fresh with acidity, encased in sweet oak, prettied with floral aromas and driven by stonefruit and lime. The aftertaste adds steel and bran to the equation.”
“Arguably the most important impression though is that it’s pretty bloody delicious.”
About This Wine
The Premium Chardonnay is produced from the original Bass Phillip estate vineyard planted in 1979. The vineyard yields two to three barrels per year and is noted for intense citrus fruit, pronounced minerality, and a long, powerful palate.
The 2018 vintage is described as a very high-quality year in southern Victoria. For this wine, fruit selection is highly selective. The wine is matured in 100% new, lightly toasted oak, with firm underlying acidity and a very long palate.
About the Winery
Bass Phillip is an Australian wine producer located in the Gippsland wine region of Victoria. The vineyard was planted in 1979 by Phillip Jones, and the first Bass Phillip wines were released in 1991.
The estate has been farmed organically since 1993 and biodynamically since 2002, though it remains uncertified. The original estate vineyard is planted at approximately 8,500 vines per hectare, with low yields of around one tonne per acre.
In the winery, wines are made with minimal intervention. Fermentation occurs via wild yeasts, wines are bottled without fining or filtration, and a Procork closure is used.
Specifications
- Vintage: 2018
- Grape Variety: Chardonnay
- Region: Gippsland / Victoria / Australia
- Production Attributes: Bottled without fining or filtration
- Maturation: 100% new oak, lightly toasted
- Closure: Cork
- Winemaker / Ownership: Phillip Jones
- Drinking Window: 2019–2026
