WTN: Got my Fil

[Jenise]

A sentimental purchase, because we fell in love with this brand during our last trip to Australia in 2002. Found this at a west coast Kroger everything-store (groceries/hardware/garden/household furnishings) who doesn't stock quality producers--last place I'd expect to find an upscale Margaret River wine. I was only in that aisle because it was the best way to get to the meat department where I was headed for pork chops, it's a miracle I saw it. Tasted over two nights:

2024 Vasse Felix Chardonnay Filius Margaret River
A beautifully pitched modern Margaret River Chardonnay that leans into freshness and detail rather than sheer weight. The nose opens with preserved lemon, green apple and green pineapple with saline, struck flint and restrained oak. Quietly sophisticated. Must add that if I were served this blind, I would gone straight to France, not Oz. Second day: even better with more balance, viscosity and more-pronounced lemon oil notes.

[David M. Bueker]

Lovely! Worth looking for.

[Jenise]

My tastes have definitely changed since that 2002 trip to Oz, and a lot of things I loved then might not get more than a like from me now. But this one passed handily! I'd buy again.

Their wines only come into BC once in awhile and usually into private shops at high mark ups. I've had a few of them and agree about their quality. If I owned the winery I don't know if I could resist calling a blend 'Deferens'....

[Jenise]

I was sure surprised to see this. Typically the only Aussie wines here are the Tait Ball Buster and lowest end of the Mollydooker line that sell on name alone to people who have no concept of good wine.

Hard to find quality Australian whites around here as well. Chardonnay or Riesling occasionally, Semillon is very rare,
Doubt I ever see this Chard but would buy if I saw

[Jenise]

Hard to find quality Australian whites around here as well. Chardonnay or Riesling occasionally, Semillon is very rare,
Doubt I ever see this Chard but would buy if I saw

It was only $24, though the shelf-talker claimed it had been $40. Very good value, although it was sentiment not price that convinced me to buy.