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. — a year ago
Beautiful pinot - all spice and pure strawberry fruit. Fresh. Not much in the way of structure, but really quaffable. Reminds me of Sexton Applejack in red fruit purity. Buy. — 5 years ago
$10 TJ.
We both liked this one. Easy and smooth — 5 months ago
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. — 2 years ago
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. — 7 months ago
Very good p/q. Reminds me of Giant Steps Applejack/Sexton. Clean red fruit, lavender, with a deeper spice note. There is Gibbston/Otago deep spice, then you get pure red strawberry. No discernible tannin, and acid is subdued, but at this pricepoint this is a buy. — 5 years ago
Marcus Chacos
The best Pinot we have had, though at this price range, we should need to have a second choice 😳🫣🤣 — 2 months ago