Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2024 Launch
Vasse Felix has recieved Triple Honours at the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion Awards, where Chief Winemaker,Virginia Willcock, was named ‘Winemaker of the Year’ and the 2023 HEYTESBURY Chardonnay was awarded both ‘Chardonnay of the Year’ and ‘White Wine of the Year’ with an exceptional 99 points.
We invite you to the highly anticipated release of the
2024 Heytesbury Chardonnay…
“An extraordinary wine of tension, energy and power…Dare I say it, but this could be the finest Heytesbury yet.”
99 Points - Ray Jordan
To celebrate the official launch, Lamont’s Cottesloe is hosting two events, a Lunch and Masterclass, showcasing 10 of Vasse Felix’s finest, including the already iconic, 2024 Heytesbury chardonnay.
Sunday, May 17th
Hosted by Evan Gill, Vasse Felix Estate Sommelier
Lunch: 12–3pm | 10 wines and 4 courses | $195.00
Masterclass: 4–6pm | 10 wines and Kate Lamont nibbles | $115.00
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Margaret River's Founding Wine Estate
Vasse Felix was established by Margaret River pioneer Dr Thomas Brendan Cullity in 1967 and is the region’s founding wine estate.
Dr Cullity’s original aim for Vasse Felix was simple – to make the best possible wine, and prove the untapped potential of a place that was hypothesised to be superb for fine wine growing. Through ingenuity and tenacity, he made Margaret River’s first serious wines in 1972; a Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec and a Riesling, marking a milestone in Australian wine history.
Since 1987, the Holmes à Court Family have guided Vasse Felix with a steadfast vision: for it, and the Margaret River wine region, to be thriving and world-regarded, 100 years into the future, and beyond.
An exacting focus on quality and excellence for Margaret River’s pre-eminent wine styles, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay sits at the heart of this.Chief Winemaker, Virginia Willcock
One of Australia's most awarded winemakers, Virginia has led the wine program at Vasse Felix since October 2006. Virginia has an insatiable curiosity for the role microbiology plays in grapes and vineyards in making more environmentally expressive wines.
As a teenager, Virginia saw the happiness and joy wine brought to her parents and their friends after a hard day’s work in their small vineyard. It was here she decided winemaking was going to be her career. “I loved the idea of growing fruit, and then turning it into something that could be more beautiful and would make people happy.”
‘Winemaker of the Year’ Halliday Wine Companion 2026
‘Winemaker of the Year’ ASVO (Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology) Award for Excellence, 2024
‘Winemaker of the Year’ Australian Women in Wine Awards, 2017
‘Winemaker of the Year Nominee’ Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards, 2014
'Winemaker of the Year’ The West Australian Good Wine Guide, 2013
'Australian Winemaker of the Year’ Gourmet Traveller WINE, 2012Chief Viticulturist, Bart Molony
Bart Molony joined Vasse Felix in 2004, making 2024 his 20th vintage. He has a passion for sustainable viticulture, where every practice is guided by a strong focus on vineyard biodiversity and responsible, natural farming practices. He promotes a constant focus on soil biology across all vineyards. This is enhanced by Margaret River’s natural suitability to sustainable viticulture, due to its climatic and environmental attributes.
“Margaret River is the perfect environment in which to grow grapes. The region’s excellent soils and climate contribute to the production of consistent yields of high quality fruit, without which, the creation of great wines would be impossible.”
‘Viticulturist of the Year’ Halliday Wine Companion, 2025
‘Viti Excellence Award' Margaret River Wine Association, 2011 -
Vasse Felix is a Mattinson 10-Star Winery.
Only the best of Australia’s best wineries are ranked as a Mattinson 10-Star Winery.Vasse Felix has been named ‘New World Winery of the Year’ by leading USA publication Wine Enthusiast in its 18th annual Wine Star Awards.
A Halliday Five-Star Red Winery Rating
2026 Halliday Wine Companion Awards
Vasse Felix’s 2023 Heytesbury Chardonnay didn’t just win Chardonnay of the Year – it also took out White Wine of the Year, scoring an exceptional 99 points.Halliday Wine Companion Winemaker of the Year 2026 - Virginia Willcock
Bart Molony of Vasse Felix has been named the 2025 Halliday Viticulturist of the Year.
Ray Jordan’s WA Wine Review ‘Wine of the Year’ and 99 Points - Tom Cullity cabernet sauvignon malbec 2020
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HEYTESBURY captures the essence of our most distinguished vineyard plots, a showcase of purity, precision and refinement. The 2023 vintage is a true collector’s edition, poised to age with grace. The 2023 is defined by its impeccable balance, vibrant acidity, and brilliant pronounced flavours. From a modest season, excellent for Chardonnay, its distinctive savoury and taut citrus-driven profile is amplified with bright fruit. A quick splash through a decanter will unveil hints of flint and mineral characters if enjoying HEYTESBURY upon release, while the stylistic layers of savoury complexity will unfurl naturally over the next year and beyond.
Vasse Felix Official
The Wine List
On Arrival
2023 Idée Fixe Premier Brut
Idée Fixe is crafted from the premium, free-run cuvée of handpicked Chardonnay, and meticulous méthode traditionnelle winemaking. A light, elegant form is revealed in the fine, even bead and the soft, pale yellow hue with subtle green reflections. The voluminous mousse is enhanced by an ethereal minerality creating an enticing palate where fruit vibrancy and layers of captivating freshness achieve delightful harmony. The unmistakable DNA of southern Margaret River Chardonnay and its cool, coastal influence runs through the Premier Brut’s core. Lifted nuances of struck match and ocean sea spray fade to reveal expansive aromas of blood orange, rhubarb and gingernut biscuit followed by an undercurrent of freshly steamed Jasmine rice and uplifting lime. A delicate citrus-infused acidity completes the moreish saline finish.
Winemaker Notes
First Bracket
2025 Vasse Felix Filius Sauvignon Blanc (New Release)
2023 Vasse Felix Premier Sauvignon Blanc
Yes, there’s a touch of colour, an amber-gold, and appealing chewy phenolics because this is fermented wild in French oak foudres and puncheons, with a portion of skin-contact. This creates all that texture and grip and interest. It’s not a fruity, tropical, boring drink, it’s complex, smokin’ and an excellent food wine. It’s all savoury, and more about the palate with raw quince tannins, dabs of spice, crisp acidity and finishes very dry. Sure, it’s not for everyone, just more for me then.
95 Points - Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
Second Bracket
2025 Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay
"While Vasse Felix makes some of our greatest chardonnays and cabernet blends with a price tag to match, its Filius range is what stops me in my tracks every time I open a bottle. Every wine spends time in French oak, which adds flavour while also demanding extra labour cost and time. It's one of the best value wines in Australia.
Gabrielle Poy, The Real Review
"Even in warmer vintages, there's still restraint with Vasse Felix wines. Filius has some fleshy stone fruit in the mix but also requisite citrus, ginger spice and some struck match. No new oak here, so this is a vibrant representation of fruit, although there's a lick of lees and, thus, a savouriness throughout. Yup. Very appealing."
91 Points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
2024 Vasse Felix Premier Chardonnay
95 Points, Campbell Mattinson
What a great release, fresh and mineral yet showing a touch of the sun from the warmer vintage. Aromas of Meyer lemons, oyster shell, shortbread, crushed river stones and grapefruit pith. The refined palate is tightly wound with focused acidity and underlying power that will only develop. So much generosity with a hint of funk, pure drive and a precise, compact style. Excellent. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
96 Points - James Suckling
I am not messing around when I say this is the most impressive wine under this estate label ever made. It resembles Heytesbury in many respects, but it is more open and engaging, meaning you can drink it now. I cannot underline enough just what a magnificent discovery this wine is!
100 Best Australian Wines 2025, Matthew Jukes
2024 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay (Global release 1st May)
An extraordinary wine of tension, energy and power. It’s the result of the earliest vintage on record at Vasse Felix, with the fruit being picked on 17 January. It's a wine of power and generosity, yet the subtle secondary characters in here really do strike a complex note. It's made predominantly from the Gingin clone and shows generosity, but typically lively acidity is there, and that wild fermentation adds richness and density. The aromas are a mix of brioche, subtle lemon curd, and cashew. But then there's a bright minerality. The palate is almost lavish, yet it's held tightly with that fine linear precision and crisp acidity. These wines have certainly become slightly more generous in recent years and allow the full expression of the Gingin clone from these distinct sites. It's another outstanding wine. Dare I say it, but this could be the finest Heytesbury yet.
99 Points - Ray Jordan
On paper, the 2024 vintage hits a lot of firsts: it was the earliest on record (starting January 17) after the warmest and earliest spring in the winery’s history. In the glass, the vintage delivers one hell of a Chardonnay: rich, complex and yet finely balanced. It could balance on a pin such is the wine’s near perfect composition and keenly detailed acidity. At this very young stage of its evolution it brings forward deep, complex aromas honeyed and leesy rich with honeysuckle and citrus blossom, citrus and stone fruits with the odd hint of tropical fruit, alpine herbs and buttered biscuit. They gather on the palate, taut and powerful, crisp and utterly convincing. It’s early days but the excitement factor is already high. Flavours are enriched by saline notes, toasted nuts, lime peel and a sprinkling of ginger and herbs producing a wine evenly brisk paced and lightly creamy in texture. The stage is set for one exciting Heytesbury Chardonnay production.
98 Points - Jeni Port, Wine Pilot
2016 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay (10-Year Museum Release)
A very complex flinty and hazelnut style that has a strong play of fine French oak on the nose. Plenty of layers to the aromas here from white peaches and nectarine fruits to grapefruit and lemons. Immense grapefruit and citrus depth on the palate with warm oak spices and well-layered savory threads. Long and effortless power. Drink now. Screw cap.
97 Points - James Suckling
This wine delivers all of the sea spray, melon rind, gunflint and oyster shell characteristics that Margaret River Chardonnay is known for. The palate shows power but not heaviness, textural weight but not richness, with a long line of salty minerality and mouthwatering acidity to boot. Drink now–2028.
95 Points - Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast
Third Bracket
2023 Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon
"Consistently one of the best cabernets from WA. It's designed to express its best qualities as a young wine, with its brightness and energy immediately apparent.. Smooth and seamlessly structured with a sublimely elegant expressive palate. It's medium-bodied with a fine boned structure.
94 Points, Ray Jordan
2023 Vasse Felix Premier Cabernet Sauvignon
"Cabernet has been the focus for the last 51 years, and the results show. From a great vintage, this wine has elegance, poise, and medium weight — just as Tom Cullity sought from the start in 1967. Loaded with black fruits, seamlessly integrated oak and tannin, and impeccable balance. A cracking wine that marks the next phase of Vasse Felix cabernet.
97 Points, Ray Jordan
2022 Vasse Felix Tom Cullity
This is a superb wine. It's elegant, balanced, and beautifully presented... The palate is beautifully integrated and woven with fine, silky chalky tannins and fine-grained oak in support... A wine that is both pretty and powerful, with refinement and elegance.
98 Points, Ray Jordan, WA Wine Review
"A robust expression of this famed wine from the oldest cabernet sauvignon vines in Margaret River... The pure, refined palate has a mineral edge, deeply scented and finely tuned with seamlessly integrated tannins. There's a real sense of the wild Australian ecosystem here, with rainforest-like freshness and a mint-driven scent."
98 Points, Ryan Montgomery, James Suckling