TN: Howard Park Chardonnay 2009

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

The last time I tried this wine was as part of a vertical tasting I hosted in 2017: http://w.auswine.com.au/forum3/viewtopic.ph ... fa#p140874. Here is the tasting note from the group back then:

2009 Howard Park Chardonnay (86.7% Great Southern, 13.3% Margaret River, 13.0% alc). Also just yellow in colour. Developed and stewed peach, stonefruit, some apricot and quince paste, alongside savoury oak and a slight cheesy note. Acid is prominent on the palate, with the mid-palate noted as ‘flat’, some alcohol heat and a shorter than average finish. It was noted that this wine underwent no malolactic fermentation. One taster believed this would be a better wine with food.

Three years on, this wine is now fully developed. Fully yellow-gold in colour, the stonefruits evident in the previous tasting are now front and centre, especially the peach and quince. Oak has receded and there's slight vanilla.

The palate is quite complex and mouth-filling, with some of the disparate elements notes in 2017 seeming to come together now. There's a great mix of developed fruits and savouriness from the oak, and the wine has come into balance. Finish is still slightly short, but this is a minor quibble - it's a better wine than it was in 2017, and this surprises me.

Drink now if you have some. This was my last bottle.

Cheers
Allan

[Dragzworthy]

Thanks for the note Allan. I don't remember the Howard Park whites as much as I do their reds which I found lovely. Not sure if this reads like my type of Chardonnay as I really do like a touch of the Malo development that I think adds the creaminess and complexity...but that's a stylistic difference.

Always appreciate your tasting notes sir.