TN: 2 Good Chardonnays

[mychurch]

Nice spring weather here and after my 50th birthday celebartions on Sunday I'm left with 2.8 kg of cooked chichen to eat. Thats a lot, but it goes a lot easier with a good glass of Chardonnay. Last night I opened the 2012 Tolpuddle Chardonnay. It was ok yesterday, but a bit flabby. Today though it had opened up a lot. Light, with high acidity, its lemon flavour is backed up by some lovely French oak. Needs more time, but its a good wine. Blown out of the water though by tonights other bottle: 2010 Yabby Lake Single Block Release Chardonnay. This takes me back to late 80's Petaluma. Maybe not in style, but its definetly the best Auz Chadonnay I've had since that period. Compared to the Tolpuddle, this has similar, tasty French oak, but its fuller bodied and richer. The persistance is the key - lovely baked pinapple that lasts a long time in the mouth. It might be that Tolpuddle blossoms into this quality after a couple of years, but I think its too lean and light. Great to try with each other though and a pleasure to drink - I'm normally firmly in the ABC camp, but these are worth a detour.