Dear TK,

In 1967, a cardiologist named Tom Cullity planted vines on an isolated stretch of Western Australia's coastline and, more or less single-handedly, gave birth to one of the world's great wine regions.

Wine Advocate calls Vasse Felix, the estate he founded, “one of Australia’s treasures,” whose “wines are definitely worth the hunt.” Less than a tenth of its wines are exported, so there’s never enough to go around.

The Filius Chardonnay is the estate’s most accessible expression of a Chardonnay—and Vasse Felix has earned its place alongside any name in Burgundy or California as a master of the grape.

I’ve been pouring this wine for years, and it has a quality I find genuinely hard to replicate at the price: precision and tension wrapped in ripe, generous fruit, with a mineral, flinty edge that keeps it alive in the glass. It’s an absolute steal for just $24, or lower per bottle on cases.

Secure your share now.

Virginia Willcock has been at the Vasse Felix winemaking helm since 2006, helping establish the estate as one of Australia’s most respected producers of Chardonnay. Her approach is to let the fruit and the site do the work. The Filius is fermented in French barrique—just 15% new—with extended bâtonnage, spending eight months in oak before bottling. The result is a wine that earns its richness honestly.

The 2024 vintage was the earliest in Margaret River’s history. An extended warm, dry summer—with three distinct heatwaves and almost no rainfall from bud burst through harvest—pushed ripening four weeks ahead of schedule and kept yields low. The Chardonnay was picked early to preserve freshness, and the concentration that comes with lighter crops is evident in every sip.

Very few Chardonnay regions in the world have the luxury of this microclimate. As famous for its wild (and notoriously shark-infested) surf breaks as for its wines, Margaret River sits on a peninsula flanked on three sides by ocean. The maritime influence bears directly on the Chardonnay—cool sea breezes enable the grapes to retain their fresh acidity and vivacity, while the sunshine develops all that beautiful fruit-driven intensity.

The 2024 Filius is precise and energetic—lemon zest, white peach, and nectarine with a mineral, flinty edge—the bold fruit core wrapped in light, toasty oak with a cascade of mouthwatering acidity. Finishing long and full, it will make any California Chardonnay lover’s heart sing while giving Premier Cru Puligny Montrachet a run for its money—at this price, there’s simply no competition.

Laura Koffer

Advanced Sommelier

VP of Wine, Wine Access

About Australia