2018 Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay Margaret River Australia 750 ml

With the number of winemakers, wine writers, and sommeliers walking around with clandestine bottles of this 2018 Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay at last year’s Australia Decanted, the annual wine industry rendezvous that brings Australia’s finest to Lake Tahoe, you would have thought the marquee Margaret River estate was the event sponsor. 

Far from it—only 7% of Vasse Felix’s wines are exported, so there’s never enough to go around. At least not for anything other than the underground bottle economy that opens up when you get 100 of America’s most prominent sommeliers and writers at an event like this, illicitly trading their wares for what they actually want in their glass all weekend.

Vasse Felix is one of Margaret River’s founding wineries, a true Australian icon that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate calls “one of Australia's treasures,” whose “wines are definitely worth the hunt.”

We did the hunting for you, and today have their 2018 Filius Chardonnay to share. Crisp and supremely mineral yet incredibly balanced with vibrant notes of lemon curd, buttercream, honey, cashew, and citrus zest, it has all the best elements of great Chardonnay—the rich layers of cream and toast—while staying thrillingly light on its feet. At $22 this 2018, with its bold fruit core encased in light, toasty oak, and a cascade of mouthwatering acidity, it’s the ultimate crowd-pleaser for an industry crowd that isn’t easily pleased.

Finishing long and full, this will make any California Chardonnay lover’s heart sing while also giving Premier Cru Puligny Montrachet a run for its money—though at $22, there’s simply no competition to be had.

Virginia Willcock has been at the Vasse Felix winemaking helm since 2006, helping establish the estate with what James Suckling describes as “an enviable reputation as one of Australia’s greatest modern Chardonnay makers”—impressive words considering the Margaret River terroir is one of the world’s rare vectors for top-tier Chardonnay.

Very few Chardonnay regions in the world have the luxury of this micro-climate. As famous for its wild (and notoriously shark-infested) surf breaks as it is for its awe-inspiring wines, the maritime influence of the region has a big bearing on Chardonnay. Cool breezes enable grapes to retain their fresh acidity and vivacity, while the sunshine develops all that beautiful, fruit-driven intensity.

The Wine Advocate has described Vasse Felix’s Filius Chardonnays as “little gems [that] are absolute bargains,” and this 2018 Filius certainly lived up to that standard at Australia Decanted where it was the toast of Tahoe, holding its own with the crème de la crème from Down Under.

We enjoyed the 2018 Filius all weekend, though the bottles we traded for our unfettered access to it were worth far more than $22. Fortunately, that’s all you need to barter to unlock your access to the same mouthwatering Chardonnay.