2023 Stella Bella Luminosa Chardonnay

There’s no shortage of excellent Chardonnay coming out of Margaret River, but Luminosa sits right near the top of the tree.

It’s the top-tier white from the team at Stella Bella, made with fruit from a carefully tended single vineyard in the Boodjidup Valley and handled with real precision in the winery. The 2023 release shows just how well this southern site can deliver power and finesse in equal measure.

It’s made entirely from the Gingin clone, famous for its thick skins and concentrated juice. Fermentation and ageing in French oak (with a good lick of new) gives the wine shape and lift, but it’s the core of citrus-driven fruit and mineral line that carries it. There’s a richness here, but also restraint – a wine with real drive and composure.

This is Chardonnay with serious presence. The kind that builds in the glass and lingers long after the last sip. Drink it now if you’re keen, but if you’ve got a bit of patience, the best is still to come.

97 points
"A powerhouse of a wine, yet is perfectly poised and stylish... struck match flintiness, spice and mouth-watering acidity... a fineness as the finish heads off to the horizon."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points
"Lime pie, lemon and pink grapefruit... quite flinty and textured... a slight parmesan rind savoury thing... superb length. In short, it’s a banger."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

96 points
"Peach, struck flint and hazelnut skin... bacon fat, hazelnut and seaside minerality... the drive and intensity is notable and it carries very long."
- Stuart Knox (The Real Review)

96 points
"Rich in peach, melon, quince paste... juicy, filigree-fine acidity... lingers long with outstanding line and length."
- Jeni Port (Wine Pilot)

95 points
"More subtle and seamless... balance and shape, with a lightning bolt of energy in the mouth... one of the very very best in Margaret River."
- Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

95 points
"Lemon confit, rosemary, flint and lime curd... grapefruit, quince, apples and sea spray... very nicely constructed."
- JamesSuckling.com