Awards, Ratings & Reviews
97/100 — Robert Parker The Wine Advocate · 2023 Vintage
Tasted: Jun 2025
When to drink: 2028 to 2043
97/100 — Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion · 2023 Vintage
Tasted: 28 Feb 2025
“The ’23 vintage is turning out to be a very special one in Margaret River both with chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, but let’s stay with the former here. This is a humdinger. Sure it’s tightly wound, given its youth and all the electrifying acidity within, but there’s substance and depth, too. A little waxy, refined, with grapefruit, lemon, ginger spice, a dash of oak spices (the 20% new French oak superbly integrated) and a little yuzu tonic water pucker. It’s linear, long, with moreish sulphides, the merest hint of creamy lees and almost a savoury overlay. Brilliant.”
95/100 — Winepilot · 2023 Vintage
Tasted: Jul 2025
“This is a brilliant release. The magic of the Margaret River terroir in a vintage as strong as 2023 has been beautifully captured here through clever, careful winemaking. It opens with lovely fragrance—pure notes of white grapefruit, lime skin, pear, and fresh lemonade underpinned by gentle cedar, saline oyster shell minerality, and a glimmer of nougat. With air, hints of brine and pastry dough emerge, adding savoury depth. It’s pretty and focused, with oak firmly in the background and purity the defining feature. The palate is gorgeously bright and equally pure, mirroring the fruit profile of the nose with a lovely interplay of tension and texture. A firm grip of chalky phenolics and saline acidity draws it through to a long, elegant close. This is a classy Chardonnay.”
About This Wine
Our 12th consecutive release of our Reserve Chardonnay, 100% of the fruit for this wine is from our oldest Chardonnay vineyard, the Lagan Estate. The low yielding vineyard produces bunches with characteristic 'hen and chicken' architecture typical of the Gingin clone.
Natural fermentation on fruit is encouraged to further emphasise the personality of this site, resulting in a medium bodied Chardonnay offering pear puree, zesty grapefruit flavours and a quartz-like, almost crystalline, mineral edge to the structure.
About the Producer
Xanadu Wines was established in 1977 by Dr John Lagan and was purchased by the Rathbone family in 2005. Together with winemaker Glenn Goodall and his team, the vineyard has been revamped via soil profiling, improved drainage, precision viticulture and reduced yields. The acquisition of the Stevens Road vineyard in 2008 has further strengthened the quality of the wines.
Specifications
- Vintage: 2023
- Grape Variety: Chardonnay
- Region: Margaret River / Western Australia / Australia
- Alcohol: 13%
- Sweetness: Dry
- Ownership: Rathbone family
- Closure: Screw cap
- Drinking Window: 2028–2043
