This is the tipping point. The 2015 Chardonnay and all the wines that followed it are, at this stage, showing their true, unfettered primary fruit character. The spice complexity is there in spades, sure, but it remains a lacy adornment rather than a central focal point. The 2015 vintage was low yielding and, at Xanadu, the earliest harvest on record. In this vintage, the Stevens Road Vineyard Chardonnay was picked on the 30th of January—two weeks (plus) earlier than average. This is concentrated and balanced and sitting on the back palate. The flavor flows long after the wine has gone. Perhaps this vintage, of all of them (so far), shows the prowess of maker and style. "2015 is funky," says winemaker Brendan Carr. "We don't necessarily go out and chase the funk, sometimes it comes to us."