Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Twin Vertical March 11, 2020 (Perth)

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Every now and then I raid the cellar to see what I can offer my wine-loving friends in the way of vertical tastings. Regular readers will have seen a few of these over the years. This time, I chose a winery I hadn’t run a vertical on previously but have quite a range of their wines.

In this case, it’s Fraser Gallop Estate in Margaret River, and it’s their Parterre range – specifically the Chardonnay and the Cabernet Sauvignon. I had almost every vintage of these two wines in my cellar, and I would like to thank Dario Sirotti from Fraser Gallop Estate for sourcing the missing wines for me, and for providing me with copious winemakers notes and technical data. Dario also joined us for the tasting, and graciously brought a couple of surprises along – but more of that later.

This year, the winery is celebrating 21 years since first planting, and 18 since the first vintage.

So, it was a pleasure to offer a tasting comprising every vintage of Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay released to date (2018-2011) and similarly for the Cabernet Sauvignon (2017-2010). We tasted from youngest to oldest for each variety, and, as usual, the tasting notes below are a composite of the group’s comments.

First, there are a couple of general comments to be made:
1. The chardonnay plantings at Fraser Gallop are 100% Mendoza (Gin Gin) clone.
2. The chardonnays undergo no malolactic fermentation.
3. The Cabernet Sauvignon is all Houghton clone, and makes up between 85% and 88% of the wine. The balance is differing amounts of some or all of the Bordeaux varieties: Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
4. Alcohol levels differ moderately according to vintage, but acid and residual sugar levels do not differ greatly over the tasting range, and the wines are clearly made to a house style, with almost uniform oak treatment and handling for each variety.

So, onto the wines:

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2018: Very pale straw in colour. The nose shows a range of citrus characters: Kiwifruit, grapefruit, lime and lemon, along with cut hay, pear, peach and florals like peach blossom. The nose is initially sherbet, some toasty oak, and a lime cordial ‘core’ which was a feature of most of the chardonnays. There’s some tart green apple also. The wine is vibrant and fresh, with tart acid and a long finish. Balanced, and apparently the product of an ‘easy’ vintage. An impressive wine to start with and well regarded by the group.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2017: Straw in colour. A leaner nose than the 2018 and befitting the cooler vintage. If anything, the nose was a little shy, with a strong lemon character, cashew and stone fruits. The lemon theme continued on the palate, with a somewhat nutty, mealy note counteracting very tart acid and grapefruit. The wine is juicy (there’s lots of acid to support this) but it didn’t seem as balanced. Probably better in 2-3 years (which is something I personally find holds true for most Parterre Chardonnays on release).

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2016: Straw just tending to yellow in colour. There’s lemon, pink lady apples, nectarine, vanilla and musk on the nose. The palate shows that lime core again, more citrus and yellow peach and high tart acid – but the wine is starting to show the first signs of development, with savoury notes emerging. Similar to the 2018 in style. This was the first vintage that introduced puncheons into the oak regime alongside barriques.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2015: Straw just tending to yellow in colour. More savoury this time, with smoke and umami notes on the nose, along with vanilla, stone fruit and some grilled nuts. There’s sweet (grilled) lemon on the nose, but overall, less palate weight and more savouriness. Ready to drink, in the opinion of the group.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2014: Pale yellow in colour. More in the stone fruit spectrum than citrus, although there’s finger lime among the cashew and vanilla. The lime core returns, and the acid has become less tart and more integrated. There’s a slight sensation of tannic grip, and some savouriness. This seems fresher than the 2015.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2013: Pale yellow in colour. The nose shows yellow peach, grapefruit, cashews, vanilla and honeydew melon. The palate shows savoury oak, good acid, a leesy, creamy mouthfeel, while also showing slate and pebbles. The savoury notes are on the increase, at the expense of primary fruit. A long finish and apparently a vintage that did really well for Fraser Gallop Estate.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2012: A lower alcohol vintage, yellow in colour. Most of the characters of the 2013 are displayed here, and even amplified somewhat, but there’s only moderate palate weight and medium length. There’s more lees character, and also flint and pebbles again. One taster described it as Montrachet-like, but it was also considered to be rounder and unbalanced in the final analysis.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Chardonnay 2011: Approaching full yellow in colour. Primary fruit has largely gone, but the secondary characters are serving it well, along with more flint and saline characters. There’s some of the 2013 gain, but with more balance and palate weight, more lees character and altogether a much more satisfying wine. This was voted White Wine of the Night (the next wine was omitted from the vote).

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Dario then produced the first of his surprises – the 2018 Palladian Chardonnay. The Palladian is now the super-premium range and has only emerged in the past couple of years. This sees 100% new Mercurey puncheons and no malo. Pale straw in colour, with the nose showing stone fruits, white flowers, citrus, white peach, green apple and vanilla, The palate shows the lime core we have seen previously, There’s a lot happening on the palate, and more hinting to come out with a little more age – definitely a complex beast. It’s more concentrated than the 2018 Parterre, with more oak and a longer finish. Extremely well balanced, although we were drinking to way too young. A fine chardonnay indeed.

Now to the Cabernets. One of the aspects of Bordeaux blends (as compared to 100% Cabernet) that I enjoy is the blend of red and blue fruits amongst the trademark blackcurrant. These wines showed this well.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2017: Purple, translucent and bright in the glass. Bright red and black fruits on the nose, along with toasty oak, eucalypt, violets (Petit Verdot?), tomato leaf and sweet earthiness. The wine shows dusty, drying tannins, mocha, ripe fruits and supporting acid. Medium bodied only – perhaps a product of the cool vintage.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2016: Similar appearance to the 2017. Bright blackcurrant, red fruits and blueberries. Mocha, eucalypt, dark plums and fresh earth. The palate shows lots of rich mocha and choc characters, ripe fruit with grippy tannins and a hint of leather. It’s full bodied, medium to long finish, and way too young to drink now.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2015: Slightly lighter in colour than the previous two wines. There’s graphite and pencil shavings amongst the sweet blackcurrant and cigars. The palate reflects this, with smoky oak, and dark chocolate / cocoa. It’s full bodies, and quite broad on the palate. Well regarded by the group.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2014: Similar colour to the 2015. Similar nose also with the addition of some dried herbs and violets. There’s even more choc on the palate, and more freshening acid. A hint of leather and dusty tannins leads to a long finish. Full bodied and good palate weight. Just starting to show signs of development. Also well regarded by the group.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2013: Similar colour to the 2015 and 2014. In addition to the notes for the last two wines, this also shows eucalypt, menthol and quite ripe fruits on the nose. Blue fruits dominate the palate, and the tannins have integrated well. Medium weight, and long finish – this has aged well, and will probably go another 5-10 years (in the opinion of the tasting group). Red Wine of the Night.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2012: Colour tensing towards crimson and garnet. Developed blackcurrant and red fruits alongside pencil shavings. The palate shows savoury oak, firm but integrated tannins, good supporting acid, tomato leaf and intense fruit richness. This is bigger than the 2013 and has a medium to long finish.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2011: Another bigger wine. Ripe fruits, vanilla, pencil shavings, leather and liquorice on the nose. The palate is plush and velvety, with integrated tannins, and rich (a developed) fruit sweetness. It’s full bodied with a long finish and well balanced. Well regarded by the group.

Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2010: This is similar to the 2011, with slightly jammy fruit, bigger tannins and charry oak. This was considered to be a ‘drink now’ wine, which was a rarely heard phrase over the course of this tasting.

Dario’s second surprise for us was the 2016 Palladian Cabernet Sauvignon. Unlike the Parterres, this is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and only 3 puncheons were made (therefore 100% new oak). These puncheons are different in that they have a stainless-steel lid and the berries are fed in through this lid. The barrels are rolled daily to encourage maceration and to plunge the skins. The wine itself is full of ripe cabernet fruit – blackcurrant, blackberries and cassis, toasty oak and firm tannins. Way too young to drink, of course, and very different in style to the Parterre.

A fascinating tasting indeed. Fraser Gallop Estate Parterre wines we tasted show a remarkable consistency, and it is a victory of house style over vintage variation. As Jack Mann famously said, “there are no bad wines here” and the good ones are very good indeed, especially in the sub-$50 a bottle range.

My sincere thanks to Dario Sirotti for taking the time to join us, to share his knowledge, and to provide extensive background information and supply the occasional back vintage. I’m sure those present on the night appreciated the wines, the camaraderie and the lively debate that accompanied most of the wines.

Salut!

Allan

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[paulf]

Great Notes Allan. I have a few vintages of the Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon that I own but haven't tried so those note are pretty useful to me. It's also shown that a couple of my assumptions about how the vintages would compare wouldn't have been right.
It would have been really interesting to look at them all side by side.