This is one cellar door I usually visit when I drive the 380 km from Sydney to Young. This yearÂ’s cherry picking has been a fabulous exercise. I was even able to pick strawberries, nectarines and peaches.
I drove the easy mile to the Chalkers Crossing cellar door just outside Young, and was warmly welcomed by the owner Ted Ambler who was kind enough to show me the many good wines from the current range.
Arriving at the cellar door
The winemaker is the extremely talented Celine Rousseau. Many of her wines show the French influence. The Pinot in particular is very Burgundian in style and their excellent Cabernet can be likened to Bordeaux. Having seen the high quality French and American oak in a temperature controlled barrel room, the very low prices for their wines surprises me again.
Maturing wines at Chalkers Crossing
My wife was right beside me in the tasting room so these will be only short impressions:
2002 CHALKERS CROSSING Tumbarumba Sauvignon Blanc
You wouldnÂ’t know in a blind tasting that this Sauvignon is 3 years old. Tasting superbly fresh and zippy, it has excellent style. Light to medium bodied with a lovely lemony palate. Far from being mature, you can age this 40% barrel fermented wine with confidence for 3 more years. Extremely undervalued and underpriced at AU $16.50 at the cellar door.
2004 CHALKERS CROSSING Tumbarumba Sauvignon Blanc
Made in a slightly different style to the 2002, it is fuller bodied with ripe melons. A fruitier richer style that is excellent drinking now or over the next 1-2 years. Will be released commercially next year. A good and tasty wine but I prefer the leaner and more focused 2002.
2002 CHALKERS CROSSING Hilltops Semillon
This is a very good wine, better than the Mount Pleasant Elizabeth from the Hunter Valley. Tastier, more concentrated and extremely varietal. Lovely structure and excellent creamy palate. Sixty percent of the wine was barrel fermented in 1 year old French oak. Amazing bargain for under AU $20.
2003 CHALKERS CROSSING Hilltops Semillon
Fuller and better than the lovely 2002, this wine is fresh and exciting. Excellent varietal definition, good oak and barrel ferment characters. A more complex Semillon. Joyful drinking!
2003 CHALKERS CROSSING Hilltops Riesling
I love Riesling so this lemony, one dimensional wine disappointed me, even at AU 16.50. Short finish.
2004 CHALKERS CROSSING Hilltops Riesling
A much better effort (and vintage?). Good ripe fruit on the palate, balanced by superb acidity and length. Tasty. This is more like it!
2004 CHALKERS CROSSING Tumbarumba Chardonnay
I tasted the lovely 2001 at a previous visit and that wine impressed me greatly. This wine was barrel fermented in French oak, 30% of the barrels new. Only bottled 5 weeks ago, it needs to settle down. Full creamy chardonnay flavours balanced by fine acidity. Lovely wine too and much better quality than what its price tag of around AU $25 would suggest.
The Chalkers Crossing wines are getting discovered overseas
2002 CHALKERS CROSSING Tumbarumba Pinot Noir
Beautiful cherry and raspberry aromas on the nose with gamy Burgundian undergrowth tones. Medium weight on the palate with gamy and sappy fruit but finishes a little short. Still, IÂ’ve drunk worse for AU $50 from Tasmania! At AU $18.50, it is a good varietal pinot that would go very well with David LoleÂ’s ducks!
2003 CHALKERS CROSSING Hilltops Cabernet Sauvignon
My most preferred wine at this tasting. Grapes picked from the Rockleigh vineyard near Young. The wine was fermented and matured in French oak. Beautifully fragrant with cassis and cherries. On the palate beautifully varietal with ripe tannins. Medium bodied, like a Margaux. Well balanced and tasty. Will cellar well. Simply outstanding for AU $25. Loved the stuff!
The much awarded 2002 Shiraz
2003 CHALKERS CROSSING Hilltops Shiraz
This last wine offered at the tasting had an amazingly dark purple velvet colour. Full, spicy and velvety on the palate, it was a lovely cool climate Shiraz without the hot alcohol I seem to notice in Shiraz from warmer regions. Aged in a mix of French and American oak, this red tasted ripe and lush. Needs at least 3 years to mature and will cellar for 10. A Shiraz with the difference. Very good.
Four of my favourite wines - there will be a label change starting with the 2005 vintage
My tasting ended here. If you are in the area, I recommend you visit as there are many excellent bargains. Chalkers Crossing is a fairly low profile operation in Australia and I think they deserve a lot more attention than what they receive, although Halliday and Hooke also praise most of the wines every time they taste them.
Cheers,
Attila
Tasted: December 2005
Or it could be that Decanter are utterly clueless
