Description / Reviews
// Salo is a long-term collaboration between two highly accomplished winemakers, Steve Flamsteed (ex Giant Steps) & Dave Mackintosh (Arfion / Kenzie). Only 1 cuvee of Chardonnay is produced under this label and fruit is from the Full Moon Vineyard in Gladysdale, Upper Yarra Valley.
"Citrus, white blossom, melon and almond meal, the palate is tight and fresh but melts away with a beautiful lemon sorbet texture. The finish is fresh and a little savoury with wonderful tension and bright acidity.
Hand picked fruit was chilled in the cold room overnight and then whole bunch pressed to a small tank high in the winery. The tank is then rummaged and run to 500 Litre (all second and third use) puncheons by gravity with full juice solids. Wild fermentation finished in late March and the wine was lightly sulphured a few months later. 50 % of the wine (2 x barrels) went through a spontaneous malolactic fermentation and this helps to build mid palate weight and complexity. A small sulphur add was made a few months after MLF completion. No stirring, unfined and bottled with a coarse filtration in early December 2025." - Steve Flamstead, Winemaker
"From the Full Moon vineyard in Gladysdale, which, sadly (and in a sign of the times), has been pulled out by the owner. Salo has another vineyard lined up for '26. In the meantime, this is an excellent way to go out. Brightly coloured with aromas of nectarine kernel, citrus peel, flint and light marine scents. There's a gentle creaminess on the well-weighted palate that finishes chalky, tensile and long. A lovely wine to drink now and over the next four to six years at least." - 96+ Points, Phillip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"
Salo Chardonnay is a side project of noted winemakers Steve Flamsteed and Dave Mackintosh. It’s been going for 17 years, with most of the wines produced from the Full Moon Vineyard at Gladysdale in the Upper Yarra Valley. I’m not sure where this 2025 release was grown but it’s the same elite quality. “Side project” sounds both cool and dismissive; this is not a wine to be dismissed.
I fell for this wine from the first sip. It’s so right that I’m almost lost for words, or for the appropriate ones. It’s mellifluous, first and foremost, in the most beautiful of ways. It tastes of white peach, cream, preserved lemons, honeysuckle and lactose, though everything comes at you as one harmonious stream. I will no doubt rate wines higher, but I can’t imagine a wine that I would more like to drink. This wine is pure, liquid gorgeousness." - 96 Points, Campbell Mattinson
