Peter van den Besselaar

8.9

NV | Irish whisky, triple distilled in copper stills, aged in oloroso sherry barrels | my night cap — 5 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

My last bottle in the cellar but first Delectable note for this vintage. A good balance of quality ripe grapes with the savoury peppery tannins from use of whole bunch in the ferment. — 5 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

See previous notes here in 2018 and 2019. An excellent Chardonnay but probably prefer the Applejack and Sexton Vineyards for Chardonnay. — a year ago

Laura Purdy

9.4

This is the Pratt Vineyard-Sexton Road — 2 years ago

Marcus Chacos

9.0

A $40 a bottle, this Chardonnay, while exceptional, maybe a slight premium compared to some of the other amazing Chardonnays that we drink. It stands alone, it combines beautifully with food and while Giant Steps is one of our favourites, we still have to make a decision based on comparative taste to comparative spend. Without doing that comparative, it gets a 9, we just need to compare it for the price point to see if the nine rating stands up. — 3 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

A wonderful Australian Chardonnay - see previous notes here. Applejack is usually my favourite Giant Steps Vineyard for Pinot Noir but with Chardonnay there are a couple of contenders - like Sexton Vineyard and this one. Great balance of stone fruit and absorbed toasty oak. Wine shows adroit winemaking skills - somewhat “worked “ and showing creamy Lees character. Have the last one in 2027 when 10 years old. Had my last bottle on 25th September 2025. Even better than before. 95 points. Vanillin oak notes to begin with before it blew off. Rich Stonefruit notes with a nice acid cut. — 6 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Brief notes. Another excellent example of Pinot Noir from the Applejack vineyard. Red fruited with strawberry and cherry. Definitely more fruit driven than the Wombat Creek which has more whole bunch in the ferment. The differences are more in wine making technique than in terroir I feel. Sexton possibly a bit of each. Had my last bottle on 6th September 2024. Applejack is definitely my favourite Giant Steps cuvee for Pinot Noir. The perfect balance of fruit, Sous Bois, acid and tannin. The 2023 just awarded Halliday’s Pinot Noir of the year for 2024. — a year ago

Jake Hajer

9.1

Out of magnum. Cranberry, strawberry, tomato leaf. Tasty. Good value. Has held in age. — 8 days ago

Marcus Chacos

9.5

Delightful wine, at $120, the Terraford is very close — 5 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

This wine was lost in my cellar for a couple of years until I found it a few days ago. As a 2016 I probably would have drunk this a year or two ago. Now at 9 years of age it is a wonderful Chardonnay with more complexity and intensity. More on the citric than stone fruit side. A good example of mature Yarra Valley Chardonnay. — 7 months ago