Following on from the AusWine Chardonnay (& Pinot) tasting a few weeks back (a great event), it was noted that many of the biggest names were missing. So we proposed that Grape Mates revisit the theme and round up as many of the highest regarded Chardonnays in Aus and NZ as we could and see how they perform in a blind lineup...... 10 of us tasted through 17 wines, with an extra taster joining in for the first four flights. We had a last minute dropout or two which saw the De Salis and Sandalford as late entries via a guest attendee. Sadly the De Salis showed poorly, possibly even a fault of some kind, and the Yattarna was gone. But otherwise it was a tasty lineup of very good Chardonnay.
It was a single blind format, where the participants knew what most of the wines were in the lineup (but not all and many without the vintage). All wines were served in a random order in flights of three and a final flight of two. Only two changes were made to the randomised lineup, one to avoid both Kumeu wines in the same flight, and one to ensure the 02 and 07 wines weren't next to a 16 wine. Votes were taken for favourite and 2nd favourite after each flight, then wines revealed. So by the end, people had some idea what the final few wines were but this system was deemed better than not revealing anything until the end. All wines were decanted for around 30-60 mins and I tried to serve them all at a similar temperature, erring on the side of colder than warmer. All wines were under screwcap except for the Yattarna and the PYCM. The Yattarna was flat and muted which led me to personally suspect very low level TCA but no-one really got TCA so it would be interesting to hear reports of other bottles. I know this one was well cellared, but not sure if bought on release or not (suspect it was). Delicious food as always from MissyK, really fun space for an offline.
So here are the results, thanks everyone for a great night out.
Grape Mates Premium Chardonnay Event @ MissyK - 3rd Nov 2017
Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay 2012 - 1 x 1st 10 x 2nd
De Salis Chardonnay 2014 (flawed?)- 0 x 1st 0 x 2nd
* Stoney Rise Holyman Chard 2015 - 10 x 1st 1 x 2nd
Sacred Hill Riflemans Chardonnay 2015 - 2 x 1st 5 x 2nd
*Penfolds Bin 15A Chardonnay 2015 ------ 7 x 1st 2 x 2nd
Moss Wood Chardonnay 2016 ------------- 2 x 1st 4 x 2nd
* Felton Road Block 2 Chardonnay 2010 ------- 6 x 1st 5 x 2nd
Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2007 -- 5 x 1st 6 x 2nd
Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2002 (flawed) - 0 x 1st 0 x 2nd
Lakes Folly Chardonnay 2010 ----------- 3 x 1st 2 x 2nd
* Giaconda Chardonnay 2010 ----------- 4 x 1st 3 x 2nd
Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chard 2013 - 3 x 1st 4 x 2nd
Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay 2007 --------- 3 x 1st 4 x 2nd
* Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2011 ---- 6 x 1st 2 x 2nd
Sandalford Prendiville Chardonnay 2011 - 1 x 1st 4 x 2nd
* Kumeu River Mate's Chardonnay 2013 ------------ 10 x 1st 0 x 2nd
PYCM Hautes-Côtes de Beaune En Creuzilly 2015 -- 0 x 1st 10 x 2nd
(* denotes winner of each flight. I missed a 2nd place vote on flight 4 for those doing the maths)
Kumeu River Mate's Vineyard 2013 was narrowly voted Best Chardonnay Overall with 4 votes, ahead of the Giaconda 2010 with 3 votes, the Felton Road Block 2 2010 with 2 votes and the Penfolds Bin 15A with one vote.
Second Favourite Overall went to the Penfolds Bin 15A with 3 votes, then Mate's and Kevin John both on 2 votes each and one vote each for Holyman, LEAS and Lakes Folly.
Third Favourite votes were split between the Woodlands, 15A and Lakes Folly all on 2 votes each, with Vat 47, Hunting Hill, LEAS and Holyman getting one vote each.
(Although of course you could say the runners up for Best Overall were actually second and third etc)
My 2c....
Holyman and both the Kumeu's all had that bright tingly acid element that I love so much, a bit in the Kevin John too. Those 4, plus the Giaconda and 15A were my clear favourites, with honourable mention to the Lake's Folly, Felton Road and Riflemans. Wasn't taking notes but will try to say a few words on each one when I get a chance.
Did seem a pity to have the Kumeu Mate's up against only the PYCM in the last flight (the PYCM wasn't bad, just a bit simple, not even close to the same quality level (even though it's on the same price level)). But that's the way it worked out and hey it now leaves the gate wide open for another blind showdown between these winners, a young Yattarna and a decent white burg or two.
The Giaconda was very good (and should improve), but while the flight of the Lakes Folly, Giaconda and Hunting Hill stood out as being the best flight overall, within that flight you can see the Giaconda wasn't a clear winner. Certainly those that voted for it as wine of the flight generally voted it their WOTN as well. Ah the label lovers.
I preferred the Hunting Hill in that flight, but it was very close, all very good wines.I got some good complexity and depth on the LEAS 07 but just couldn't get past the distracting heat on the palate, preferred the clean freshness of the Felton 2010. Also was my first Riflemans, thought it was very good, still young, well balanced, slightly more weighty, bit lower acid than the Kumeu's but a nice wine for $65. Not sure I'd buy over the top two Kumeu's though, maybe pick up one here and there for a point of difference.
We finished with three decent reds at the end thanks to Mick & Dave, a Lafarge Passetoutgrains 2013, Rockford Basket Press 2013 and Spinifex Esprit 2007. I'll confess I was too busy relaxing while finishing off my favourite Chard's at the end to have much red, but did like the Gamay and BP.
IMHO Conclusion : While we gave it a good go, without having 17 glasses each, you can never treat them all equally, and even that probably isn't equal. Either way the 1st wine vs 17th wine will always be judged differently, food was changing through the night which can make a difference, and of course you are only comparing three at a time, while keeping in mind those that have come before it for the final vote. But it was pretty obvious to all what wines stood above the rest, as per the results. One big factor with Chardonnay is that people prefer slightly different styles, oak treatment, acid level, aged characters etc. But we were mostly aligned this night. For me given the Kumeu Rivers and Holyman were around 50-70% the price of the Giaconda, Bin 15A and Kevin John, I know what I'll keep buying more of! We really are blessed with a lot of great Chardonnay over here.
(Thanks to dave vino for the pics)
[img]http://www.grapemates.org/files/Misc/ChardPrem.jpg[/img]
