Giant Steps Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay 2017

Winemaker Steve Flamsteed's chardonnays are Yarra Valley benchmarks."  Ralph Kyte-Powell

Giant Steps is recognized as a global benchmark for cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery was established in 1998, one year after founder Phil Sexton arrived in the Yarra Valley in search of ideal sites to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of purity and finesse. The Giant Steps Single Vineyard range is produced from the most site-expressive fruit off the best vineyards in great years.

"Very impressive elemental chardonnay that has a striking singularity that equates to immense purity. The palate is all succulence and swagger combined, the result is tension and depth."  James Suckling

The Tarraford Vineyard is located in a protected valley at Tarrawarra in the lower Yarra Valley. The 8.5 hectare Vineyard, planted in 1988, has a discrete microclimate that is cooler than neighbouring sites and a diversity of aspect (north, south and east facing) and clones provide multifaceted winemaking opportunities. 

"P58 clone. Hand picked and whole bunch pressed without additions. Course settled to 500L French puncheons. Indigenous fermentation. No malolactic fermentation. Batonnage for the first two months, then topped and let rest (maturing) for a further 8 months on lees. New and used tight grain French oak – 20% new, 80% older. Rough pass filtered and naturally fined. Bottled by gravity."  Giant Steps

Expert reviews

"Lower Yarra Valley, P58 clone, fermented in French puncheons (20% new), matured for 10 months. Hints of chaff and wheat on the bouquet; intense grapefruit flavours lead the way on the palate, with complexity rocky acidity. Drink by 2028."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points

"More savoury and nicely expressed stony and biscuity nuances on the nose that have a lime peel and lime juice edge. Very impressive elemental chardonnay that has a striking singularity that equates to immense purity. The palate is all succulence and swagger combined, the result is tension and depth. Drink this across the next 6 years."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 95 points

"Warmest of all the sites of Giant Steps coterie of vineyards. Shows in the extra generosity in this wine, but it's by a degree, and you'd likely have to be tasting them side-by-side as myself and GW had the pleasure of doing. Still, it's got some pep. Get up and go chardonnay.

Ripe apple, lemon curd, scents of faint, wet stones. Palate is ample, juicy, almost fleshy but for the licks of minerally tartness of acidity. Has some white chocolate notes, almost the texture of just melted chocolate bar, soft and long, stains the palate gently, the finish perky and fresh. It's one of those lip-licking, moreish chardonnays, and will be hard to put down. Yep. Drink: 2018-2025+."  Mike Bennie, The Wine Front – 94 points

 In 1997 Phil Sexton arrived in the Yarra Valley in search of ideal sites to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of purity and finesse. He was looking for sites with altitude, aged soils, slopes of exposure, regular rainfall and cool to cold nighttime temperatures and a gentle breeze off the protecting mountain ranges. The Giant Steps winery was established one year later in 1998.

The focus is on the production of high-quality, single-vineyard wines. The Giant Steps Single Vineyard range is produced from the most site-expressive fruit off the best vineyards in great years. Each single vineyard wine tells a story about the vineyard, vintage and variety. Production of these wines is very limited with some vineyards producing as little as 200 cases.

The single vineyards comprise the Sexton Vineyard in the Lower Yarra and the Applejack Vineyard in the Upper Yarra (both owned by Giant Steps), the Tarraford Vineyard in the Lower Yarra under long-term lease, the Primavera Vineyard in the Upper Yarra under long-term supervised contract and the Wombat Creek Vineyard owned by Hand Picked Wines. In addition, Giant Steps produce a Yarra Valley range of wines made from handpicked fruit from their estate vineyards. They are highly expressive wines, true to the regional characteristics of the Yarra Valley. 

The Giant Steps wines have received global acclaim and are now recognized as a global benchmark for cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Since 2003 Giant Steps wines have been awarded 34 trophies and over 100 gold medals at major international and domestic wine shows and has been named one of the Top 100 Wineries in the World by US Wine & Spirits Magazine for each of the last six years.

Giant Step's success is due in no small part to Steve Flamsteed, Chief Winemaker since 2003. Steve had previously worked for Leeuwin Estate (1999 – 2002) and the Hardy Wine Company at their Yarra Burn Winery in the Yarra Valley (2002 – 2003). Steve was named Gourmet Traveller Wine 'Winemaker of the Year' in 2016. "Steve Flamsteed is a man of many talents with a finely tuned palate, an instinctive flair for winemaking and fastidious attention to detail. This shows particularly in the stunning single-vineyard chardonnays and pinots of Giant Steps: distinctive wines that reflect their sites and glow with impeccable finesse."  Peter Forrestal, chairman of judges, Gourmet Traveller Wine Winemaker of the Year

Melanie Chester joined Giant Steps as Head of Winemaking and Viticulture in 2021. She came to Giant Steps from Sutton Grange Winery in Central Victoria, where she was Head Winemaker. In 2014, Melanie became the youngest ever scholar selected for The Len Evans Tutorial. In 2015, she was named Young Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine, and in 2018, Melanie was recognized by Young Gun of Wine as the People's Choice award winner for favourite winemaker.

Giant Steps was acquired by the Jackson Family in 2020. The Jackson Family own a vast stable of wineries in California (Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Monterey County, Santa Barbara and Oregon), Australia (Yarra Valley and McLaren Vale), Chile, France, Italy and South Africa.