The Auswine Forum

Great posts by you guys, interesting reading.. Personally I go for Paringa pinots, a real knock out every year, compared to their chardys which are ok but there are far better bottles in S.A. (Clare Valley & Barossa) and Tassie. I like Giaconda when I can afford it, Mount Adam is reliable, it depends on whether you like wooded or unwooded, heavily oaked or not. I reckon you just go on trying them till you find one that suits your palate, Kemenys Bondi Rd have a big selection & John Brown if he's there is worth listening to.

deleted

deleted

Sean O'Sullivan wrote:My week of chardonnay continues and so tonight an 07 Yering Station Chardonnay, which is a barrel-fermented style, although mostly older oak, some yellowy straw colour now, just 12.5% alcohol and typical Yarra Valley elegance and complexity, with nice melon and stonefruit and quite subtle, smoky French oak, not so much minerally, but soft and slightly creamy showing some bottle development compared with the last one I had.

Anyone else drinking some interesting chardys lately?

Plenty of very interesting chardonnay aroun at the moment, and it sounds like you're drinking some of them yourself. Not sure that they could be classed as the big woody style Gavin's customer might be looking for, though.

deleted

Had a couple of glasses of a Brookland Valley Verse 1 last night but forget the vintage - it was a long afternoon/evening of catching up with some old friends - maybe 08 but I remember thinking 07 was a good vintage in MR? It had a good whack of oak, lees and possibly malo in the mix, made me think vaguely of this thread. I thought it pretty tasty for the $20 it cost at the drive-through but can of course be found for rather less than that.

Cheers

daz

There were a couple of contenders on a lightning trip to the Barossa last weekend, both tasting very much like the oaky/heavy malo-style Gavin is referring to:

2009 Ross Estate Single Vineyard Chardonnay
2009 Langmeil Eden Valley Chardonnay

Cheers,
Ian

deleted

i concur Sean... a great drop. will be sourcing more.

deleted

[b]Maverick Barossa Chardonnay , Just had at a tasting and yes loaded full of toasty Oak , mmmmmmmm It was good i must say , 20 bucks as well

REgards Dazza

Very much enjoyed an Alkoomi WA Chardonnay 2008 last night. In a slightly older style with a hit of malo and oak, but enough fruit and acid to make it a rather good drink for under $20.

Sean O'Sullivan wrote:Tonight an 08 Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay and while it is a little more fruit driven than I was expecting it is seriously good. This is a wine with two stories, one about the vintage and the other about the winemaking. It has loads of fruit, rather than being mean and lean, which isn't surprising given the heatwave conditions they had around vintage time, with citrus and stonefruit, really good spicy/savoury French oak, some leesy complexity and even slightly creamy because of partial malo, offset by tight and subtle acid on the palate showing nice balance and typical of a modern style of oaked chardy.

Hi Sean.

A wine with two stories? Could we hear more about both stories (although I think you've covered the second one to a degree)? M3 has been an occasional buy for a few years now.

Cheers

Allan

Notes from my blog on a recent Chardonnay tasting in Sydney with friends that may be of some interest in this thread:

The wines were all tasted blind and we voted on each flight before the wines were revealed. At the end of the 3 flights we arranged the wines voted first in each flight, tasted them blind again side by side to get an overall winner, 2nd and 3rd place.

The first flight:

2008 Hay Shed Hill Margaret River WA:
Tropical fruit including Guava, Nectarine and Peach with a dash of oak spice soared from the glass. This followed through on the palate with perfectly balanced acidity and a perfect soft dash of Oak supporting that wonderful pure fruit. Impeccable balance and just so juicy. WOTF. 2nd overall.

2008 Shaw and Smith M3 Adelaide Hills SA:
Much bigger than the previous wine in the sense that this was what i would call that big bold style of Chardonnay with big fruit and a massive buttery dollop of Oak. Vanilla and Peach on the nose, in the mouth buttery and rich with a mouth coating texture. Spicy and almost oily with nectarine vanilla and spice. Big wine and i really like it. I would like to try this after 5 years in the cellar as i feel it would soften and integrate even further.

2008 Over The Shoulder Yarra Valley Vic:
Floral and Elegant both on the nose and in the mouth. I thought it rather slatey and mineraly with Melon and some citrus. A little short on the palate after the last two wines never the less crisp, elegant and easy to drink.


The second flight:

2008 Leeuwin Prelude Margaret River WA:
The nose on this wine threw me right from the word go. Herbaceous, Banana skin, faint Nectarine and a little funkiness. It followed pretty much the same in the mouth with perhaps some melon and what i thought seemed like Nettle without any funkiness. Well balanced and middle of the road between big and bold and the elegant wines. This seemed to speak more of where it was from than the fruit it was made from. I spent a good 5 minutes or more just smelling this wine. I loved it!

2007 Ashbrook Estate Margaret River WA:
The nose showed burnt Match, Flint, Vanilla and Peaches. The palate was intense with Peaches, Hazelnut, Nutmeg, spicy smokey Oak, intense, long and fairly well balanced. Lovely and Powerful. WOTF. 3rd Overall.

2007 Howard Park Margaret River WA:
Crushed flowers and i think Violet on the nose. The palate was elegant with Honey Dew Melon and Citrus with nice acid and the oak far away in the background. Soft and Crisp this would have been just fantastic with grilled Fish and a green salad.


The Third Flight:

2002 Brands Coonawarra SA (Magnum):
Buttery and soft with toast and the yellow peach fruit fading into the background this caressed the mouth but just seemed a little short and simple. It went rather well with the Paella served at the end of this flight however it was possibly past its prime and just a little simple. Medium in length, this did have great mouth feel and was happily consumed by most washing down the some great Paella.

2004 Bannockburn Geelong Vic:
Peach, Spice, Citrus and Hazelnut on the nose which followed to the palate with the complexity of some caramel and almond which added to the savoury side of the wine and its buttery mouth feel. This wine was well integrated, complex with a soft acid back bone and just divine to drink. Yum Yum Yum! WOTF. WOTN!

2008 Peregrine Central Otago NZ (Ringer):
Very tropical and floral on the nose even a little passion fruit? The palate showed Melon, Nectarine and a little citrus, elegant with lovely acidity. Even a touch floral. Lovely wine to drink.

deleted

deleted

Sean O'Sullivan wrote:Shannon, I think you are right about this being possibly past its prime, but still satisfying. Sounds very similar to the Brand’s chardys (94, 95, 96 from memory) that I have drunk in the past with about 6 or 7 yrs on them when they were more amber than yellowy with lots of butter and charry toast. Nudging the edge of the drinking window perhaps, but I got a taste for them like that.

Hi Sean, the Brands as i said went quite well with the Paellla and it was certainly an enjoyable old Chardonnay but fell a little short of the other wines tasted. Naturally these were much younger wines so they would be showing quite differently anyway. I think if served on its own it would have been a great old wine and it was certainly very easy to drink. On the day of the tasting the brands, Bannockburn, M3 and Over the Shoulder were the only wines that were finished. Most others were left about 40% full and taken home to drink the next day.

While we are on the topic of Chardonnay, has anyone had the opportunity to try any 30 - 40yr old Montrachet? I have been offered some and am curious as to whether they would still be alive?

Sean O'Sullivan wrote:

Waiters Friend wrote:A wine with two stories? Could we hear more about both stories (although I think you've covered the second one to a degree)? M3 has been an occasional buy for a few years now.

Allan, I would be interested to know what you think of this wine. I haven’t drunk much chardy from Adelaide Hills and this one might or might not be a typical example. This is why I had the idea of two stories, one about the 2008 vintage and the other about the winemaking (or the wine style they are aiming for). My memory of that heatwave was waking up each morning and thinking here we go another 40C day just like it was yesterday and the day before. I imagine this is what it must have been like up in the Adelaide Hills at vintage time during that 15 day heatwave we had in SA and Victoria in March, 2008. Shaw and Smith say it “resulted in a fast and furious grape intake and challenged all our resources” and I wondered about that because I thought it was a little more fruit driven than I was expecting, but still had much of what I think of as an elegant (but not really austere) style.

Sean, I was looking with interest to see what your 'two stories' are. I've done winery vintages, but what you were implying is (I think) a stylistic change and I would like to know what the stylistic (or winemaking) changes are, especially as a result of a hot vintage

,..

Cheers

Allan