WS "Stunning!" 97-94pt Puligny-Montrachet Taste @ 1/3rd Price | Prev #1 Wine of Year | #1 Winery of Year
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Giant Steps · Yarra Valley, Victoria · Only 30 Bottles
“Stunning.” -WS
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Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2021 · “STUNNING”
“Stunning, with incredible vibrancy and concentration to the orange sherbet, lemon curd and ruby grapefruit flavors at the core. Features fresh-grated ginger, lemon thyme and salted melon on the finish.”
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| 96 Falstaff | 95 James Halliday | 94 Wine Spectator | 92 James Suckling | 30 Bottles Left |
These days, a Premier Cru Puligny-Montrachet will set you back $150 to $300 a bottle. The Village-level starts around $120, if you're lucky.
The importer challenged us to a fully blind tasting. We were so confident that we were tasting TWO beautiful Puligny/Chassagne, side-by-side. We were humbled with the reveal: today's featured wine, alongside a Puligny costing three times as much.
There's a reason why Wine Spectator calls the Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay “stunning” — not a word they use casually.
The Yarra Valley is to Australia what Burgundy is to France — a cool-climate region of exceptional finesse, where Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reach their highest expression. Giant Steps, named after John Coltrane’s landmark album, was founded in 1997 by Phil Sexton specifically in search of that ideal. Chief Winemaker Steve Flamsteed has been shaping the wines since 2003, and the results speak for themselves: 34 trophies, over 100 gold medals, six consecutive years on Wine & Spirits Magazine’s Top 100 Wineries in the World list.
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Puligny-Montrachet Village
$125+
per bottle · Burgundy, France
Cool climate Chardonnay
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vs. |
Giant Steps Yarra Valley
$47.97
per bottle · Yarra Valley, Australia
WS: “Stunning” · 96 Falstaff
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“The Yarra Valley is recognized globally as Australia’s benchmark for cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir — wines of purity, mineral tension and genuine finesse that rival the best in the world at a fraction of the price.” — James Tran, Artisan Wine |
2021: the finest vintage in recent memory. Hand-picked, wild-fermented, zero compromise.
The 2021 vintage in the Yarra Valley produced exceptional quality across the board. A wet spring followed by a long, cool growing season — lower-than-average temperatures extending ripening by weeks — resulted in extraordinary concentration, natural acidity, and the kind of balance that makes these wines drink beautifully now and age effortlessly for years to come.
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50%
Upper Yarra Ranges
Half the fruit sourced from the cooler, higher-altitude upper Yarra ranges — the origin of the wine’s bracing mineral tension and Burgundian restraint. |
500L
French Oak Puncheons
Whole bunch pressed, chilled overnight, gravity-transferred directly to 500L French oak puncheons. Wild fermentation only — zero commercial yeasts, zero fining, zero filtration. |
0 MLF
Zero Malolactic
No malolactic fermentation — a deliberate choice that preserves every milligram of natural acidity and gives the wine its signature citrus-driven vibrancy and knife-edge tension. |
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2021 Giant Steps Chardonnay
Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia · 100% Chardonnay · 12.5% alc · Drink now–2027
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$47.97 |
| ⬤ Only 30 Bottles Remaining | Reg. $64 · You Save $16.03 |
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96
Falstaff
A vibrant burst of peach fruit aroma leaps out of the glass. Citrus and green apple, with a lovely roundness of texture that stops this wine from feeling too pinched. Some subtle spice in the background adds another layer of pleasurable intrigue.
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95
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion
A super-bright green gold. Vibrant aromas with perfectly ripened stone fruits, grapefruit pith and an attractive touch of lemongrass and ginger. Gently textured, balanced and satisfying. A class act from beginning to end.
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94
Wine Spectator · “STUNNING”
Stunning, with incredible vibrancy and concentration to the orange sherbet, lemon curd and ruby grapefruit flavors at the core. Features fresh-grated ginger, lemon thyme and salted melon on the finish.
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92
James Suckling
A fleshy, textured Chardonnay with aromas of apricots, honeysuckle, nutmeg, toast and persimmons. Medium- to full-bodied with bright acidity. Balanced, layered and very drinkable. Hints of flint at the end.
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For those who want to go deeper into Giant Steps.
We have 5 bottles each of two single-vineyard expressions from the same 2021 vintage — the Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay and the Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir. These are the wines that define Giant Steps at the very top of their range. Each vineyard has been farmed and studied for decades; each wine a single-site portrait of what the Yarra Valley can produce.
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Cool-climate precision deserves a thoughtful table.
| Yarra Valley Chardonnay Pan-seared scallops · Roast chicken with lemon · Lobster bisque · White truffle pasta · Aged Comté | Primavera Pinot Noir Duck breast with cherry jus · Lamb rack · Mushroom risotto · Grilled salmon · Pinot-friendly charcuterie | |
| Service Chardonnay: 50–54°F · Primavera Pinot: 58–62°F · Burgundy glass · Decant Pinot 20–30 min · Both excellent now through 2027+ | ||
Puligny quality. Yarra Valley price.
Wine Spectator called it “stunning.” We agree. 30 bottles before they’re gone.
F 96 · JH 95 · WS 94 “Stunning” · JS 92 · Only 30 bottles · Plus 5 btls each of single-vineyard rarities
| Yarra Valley Chardonnay — $47.97 → |
| Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay (5 btls) → |
| Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir (5 btls) → |
Questions?
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Text us → 650-880-3553
Call us → 650-917-8080
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