"Ooh-boy the Tolpuddle Chardonnay is in a good place. I guess you could call this vintage a 'classic'. A little more restraint and line than the '23; a little more filigree and nuance, those flinty/struck-match tones a little further back in the mix and woven through the wine in an intricate pattern. White peach, lemon, grapefruit and nectarine fruits are high fidelity and beautifully poised, suffused with soft spice, clover and grapefruit blossom, crushed stone, cinnamon, a murmur of vanillin oak and spiced poached pear, grilled hazelnuts, crème fraîche and a whisper of onshore breeze. Everything is in sharp relief, with the purest of fruit. It's all detail and tension, with a textural glaze of grapefruit pith and a sapid, mineral line that builds like a crescendo before releasing, finishing long and true. It's a stunner." 98 points Dave Brookes September 2025 Halliday Wine Companion
