The 2007 Chardonnay ($42 4.5/5 $42) was another refined new style Oz Chard, with an excellent mouthfeel and textured fruits on the palate. The nose wasn't bad either. It had been a while since I'd had a Chenin Blanc, and the 2009 Voyager Estate is probably overshadowed by the other whites but at 4/5 and $20 was a nice take on an overlooked variety.
They'd had reason to open a bottle of the 2003 Chardonnay (5/5 $60), which isn't usually available for tasting, and the extra bottle age produced a balanced style that was oakier than some recent examples I'd tried. Very much a style I like.
The reds were equally impressive, from the 2008 Girt By Sea Cabernet Merlot (4/5 $24) an interesting style that would handle a spell in the fridge through the 2007 VOC Collection Merlot (5/5 $55) a wonderful expression of varietal Merlot that I thought wasn't to be taken Sideways to the 2008 Shiraz (5/5 $34) a darkly fruity style that made a nice alternative to the big Barossa versions. 
After Leeuwin Estate it would've been easy to be let down, but what I tried here was as impressive as what I’d tried at the preceding stop, and after two stops like that, you'd possibly be tempted to give things a spell, but the advance publicity about Stella Bella Wines suggested an operation that was firmly on the way up, and there was no way I was going to give it a miss.
The Cellar Door operation is new, but the girl who looks after it is another one of those enthusiastic types who'll have most visitors lining up for more. Knowledgeable, easy to talk to with a genuine interest in other regions and styles, resulting in another highly enjoyable tasting session. In the end, of course, it's all about the wines, but here again what was on offer was amazingly good, consistent across the range and represented good value for money.
That wasn't quite apparent with the 2009 Skuttlebutt Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (4/5 $18), a pleasant enough drop though I preferred the ones I'd tried elsewhere but the 2009 Stella Bella Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (4.5/5 $21 and a very classy little number indeed) and the 2010 Stella Bella Sauvignon Blanc (4.5/5 $24) offered fantastic value for money. You're going a bit up-market with the 2006 Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (5/5 $45) a fantastic little wine with great length on the palate. Halliday's a big fan, rating it a 96.
Dropping back in price the 2007 Stella Bella Viognier (4/5 $28) was a good example of the varietal style with plenty of apricot notes, while the deliciously creamy 2008 Stella Bella Chardonnay (4.5/5 $30) was a really good expression of the oaked style.
The reds started with the 2008 Skuttlebutt Rose Shiraz Merlot (4/5 $18), a sign that Hughesy's going to have some very tricky decisions to make regarding summer fridge-friendly reds, but unfortunately the similarly priced 2007 Skuttlebutt Otro Vino Tempranillo Blend, which I'd been rather interested in was all gone. I thought that the 2007 Skuttlebutt Shiraz Cabernet (4/5 $18) would make a rather pleasant lunch style, though I doubt I'll be able to fit it in to the order book, but on the other hand the 2007 Stella Bella Sangiovese Cabernet (4.5/5 $30) was a great style to go with Italian food, while the 2007 Stella Bella Tempranillo (4.5/5 $30) was a big muscular barbeque style that would go down a treat with chargrilled beef.
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