Giant Steps Wombat Creek 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. 

"A super flinty, cool-climate Yarra chardonnay. This is a wine with layers of complexity, plenty of satisfying fruit presence, some light herbal cooler notes and hints of cucumber. The palate has beautiful textural layering and shape. Long and seamless with great depth. It is also packed with interest. A tangy finish."  James Suckling

The Wombat creek Vineyard is located at Gladysdale in the upper Yarra Valley. It was planted in 1988 with the intention of producing base wine for sparkling production but over the years has been gradually transitioned to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for table wine. At 410 metres, is the highest altitude vineyard in the Yarra Valley, making it an ideal location for the production of extreme cool climate wines. The underlying red, ferrous based volcanic soil and rock produce a distinctively soft yet long and firm palate that contrasts with the finer palates seen from the nearby Applejack Vineyard (basalt based volcanic). The 16 hectare Wombat Creek Vineyard, owned by Hand Picked Wines, is located on a north-east-facing slope.

"I10V1 clone. Hand picked and whole bunch pressed without additions. Course settled to 500L French puncheons. Indigenous 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

"The highest of the Upper Yarra Valley vineyards, I10V1 clone, fermented in French puncheons (20% new), matured for 10 months. Apple and peach blossom aromas, and a very long and intense palate. A most attractive contrast of white peach and grapefruit and a cleansing finish. Drink by 2028."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points and Special Value Wine  ★

"A super flinty, cool-climate Yarra chardonnay. This is a wine with layers of complexity, plenty of satisfying fruit presence, some light herbal cooler notes and hints of cucumber. The nose has grapefruit, candied lemons and white peaches. The palate has beautiful textural layering and shape. Long and seamless with great depth. It is also packed with interest. A tangy finish. Drink or hold."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 96 points

"Slightly dusty, sulfury overtones over subdued fruit aromas. There's a nutty, almond or malty aroma note, while the palate is very dry and restrained, with good intensity and length. The sulfur could be subduing it just a little, especially on the nose. Still the quality shines through. This has more to give in time. Drink: 2018-2029."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 95 points

"Pack a few drongos into the bunged up ute, mate, we're sucking back tinnies all the way to Wombat Creek, ya flamin' galah. Almost the last fruit that comes into the Giant Steps winery. Altitude, age of vines, new vineyard, all conspiring here. Stellar new release. Chardonnay looks tops from 2017.

Flint, halva, faint wet stone notes, some green apple, some faint buttery notes. Clatters through the palate, lively and refreshing, shows some leesy nuttiness, cool acidity staying perky and alert through the wine. Finishes with incredible velocity of acidity, tart and citrus rind feeling, with a faint stain of malty-nougat stuff. Live wire, interesting, good. Drink: 2018-2026."  Mike Bennie, The Wine Front – 94 points

Awards

Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion  ★ 

 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.