Grand Cru Tasting Group (Perth) Chardonnay tasting 2016

[Waiters Friend]

Grand Cru Chardonnay Tasting 20 January 2016

We’ve done a couple of chardonnay tastings now as the Grand Cru group. One of them (a year or two ago) was so oversubscribed (18 people) that we used calibrated medicine cups to pour out each wine. Fortunately, we had 11 people this time, and the pharmaceuticals were dispensed with.

This time, all the wines were tasted blind and only unmasked at the very end, so no preconceptions, no ‘young to old’ structure, and really no idea what was going to be seen. A fascinating exercise indeed. They were served in three brackets of 4 wines.

So, to the wines, in no particular order at all. As usual, the notes are a compilation of the tasters’ notes and do not necessarily reflect my opinion.



The first wine was yellow with a touch of gold. It was slightly buttery, with white peach, melon and a touch of sulphur. Oak was noticeable on the nose, as well as showing a cedary flavor on the palate, which showed lemon zest, bruised apples, bubblegum (?). There’s good acidity, but the finish was a little short with a touch of bitterness. This, when unmasked, was the Synapius 2013 from Tasmania.

Next was a contrasting wine – pale yellow. The nose was a little shy to begin with, then opened up to reveal lemon, grapefruit, a little struck match, cashew, yellow peach and both rock melon and honeydew. The lemon and grapefruit flowed through to the palate, which was assisted by just the right amount of acidity. The finish was also longer than the first wine, and there’s a touch of minerality. This was the Tolpuddle 2013, also from Tasmania.

The next wine was yellow gold with a green tinge. The nose had a lot going on, with gunpowder, lots of peach and nectarine, white per, butter, toffee, lemon pith and noticeable oak. The palate is also richer than the previous wines, with a little butter. A medium to long finish was marred by a touch of alcohol heat. This was obviously an older wine than the previous two, and probably at its best now – the Toolangi Reserve 2008 from the Yarra Valley.

The last wine of this bracket is yellow in colour, with citrus prominent and slight cordial tones, and modest oak. One taster noted ‘powdered mashed potato’, and others noted nuttiness. The palate showed citrus, especially lemon, green apple and sour drop lollies. The wine finished to medium length, with slight bitterness, and comments were made along the lines of ‘it doesn’t taste like Chardonnay’. This was Pipers Brook 2009, also from Tasmania.

It was sheer coincidence that the three of the four Tasmanian wines brought along appeared in the first bracket! Wine of the bracket was overwhelmingly the Toolangi Reserve 2008.

The next bracket kicked off with a couple of unexpected wines (well, from my perspective, anyway). The fifth wine is yellow gold in colour. The nose is the real point of difference – slightly sweaty, custard apple, scrumpy (not everyone knew what that is!), caramel , toffee and some secondary characters. The palate shows nuttiness and marzipan, and a couple of different layers of fruit. Acidity is good and assists with integrating the different palate characteristics, and the wine has great length. It’s the Domaine Le Flaive Bourgogne 2010.

The next wine totally polarized the tasting group. The colour was deeply gold, and the wine appeared very oxidized just on appearance. Then the nose – this isn’t a chardonnay, someone’s filled the bottle with sherry by mistake! There was also some nuttiness and damp hessian, which further made me question the condition of the wine. The palate showed lime juice, warm sherry, and a mild curry. Although the acid was prominent, the wine had a very short finish and many of us did not know what to make of it. It turns out that the style is intentional (“Why?” I ask) and it is the Benedicte et Stephanie Tissot 2011 from the Jura (France). It’s 70% chardonnay and 30% sauvignon blanc

The third wine in this bracket was more obviously chardonnay. Pale yellow, with an initially shy nose of pear, sherbet and white fruits. There’s a little zingy acid up front of the tongue, and from here opinion was divided. Some found the palate lacking and finishing short, while others commented on the long finish. Regardless, the wine is a little disjointed. It’s the Heemskerk 2012, from Tasmania.

The final wine of this bracket was obviously a very young wine from the initial pour. Pale yellow, with spicy cedary oak, peaches, cashew and fresh pineapple. The pineapple was noted on the palate as well, along with cleansing acidity. All in all a very well balanced New World chardonnay that ticked most of the boxes. This got it wine of the bracket. It’s the Shaw and Smith M3 2014 (Adelaide Hills) and I would suggest it has a good future ahead of it.

The final bracket kicked off with another wine that said different things to different tasters. Yellow gold in colour, with honey, florals, minerality, and in the peach spectrum of flavours. The palate was rich, a little buttery, cordial, pineapple, with good acid and generosity of flavours. All of these indicated (well, to me, anyway) a wine with a little age, but it turned out to be the Glen Carlou 2013 (South Africa).

The next wine is yellow in colour. There’s a touch of celery on the nose initially, along with some struck match, white peach and noticeable French oak. The palate showed a lovely balance between fruit and acidity, with some bruised apples, caramel, and a very good mouth feel and finish. The main feature of this wine is its balance, and it will go for a few years yet. It’s the Robert Bowen 2011 (Margaret River) and was strongly voted a wine of the bracket.

The second-to-last wine was a different beast again. Pale straw in colour, and the nose drew much comment about whether it was in fact a Riesling or SB incorrectly labeled. Lots of citrus and green apple and no noticeable oak. The palate was also quite light, with more fruit and cleansing acid, and not a lot else happening. Obviously a young wine, it’s the Parker 2014 (Coonawarra).

The final wine was destined to be different to all of the others. It came in a half-bottle, for a start, and showed ripe apples and yellow peaches on the nose. It’s the palate that really showed the difference, however – tinned apricots, sweetness and cleansing acidity all working together well. Obviously a dessert wine, but without the characteristics of botrytis. And it’s a chardonnay? Yes, it’s the Fraser Gallop Iced Chardonnay 2013 from Margaret River.

Overall, the Shaw and Smith 2014 was voted as wine of the night, by a narrow margin. Then, and only then, were the wines unmasked.

It’s interesting to hold blind tastings like this one. It’s not the best way to present wines, in terms of continuity (e.g. younger to older), but it really exposes the wines for what they are, not what the label says.

It was also a pleasure to have a couple of people with us who have not been at these events previously. Thanks to them, and all of the regulars, for their insights, stories and senses of humour. As usual, these are top nights, and a great way to forget about the working week for a few hours.

Cheers
Allan

[Benchmark]

Excellent report.

Sounds like a great night.

[TiggerK]

Thanks for the notes Allan, interesting to see the contrasting opinions on some of the wines.

FWIW, Jura white wines, typically Chardonnay or Savagnin (not Sauvignon Blanc), or in this case a blend, can range from classic white burgundy/new world styles through to the sherry-like oxidative styles (the latter including the famous Vin Jaune wines). Sounds like David's example was definitely in the oxidative end of the spectrum, but even a subtle hint of that style in a wine can be confronting and/or offputting for those not used to it. I was lucky to taste through a bunch of wines from the Jura yesterday, and let me tell you, almost all of them were thrilling, with excellent length, especially the oxidative Savagnin's (not to be confused with oxidised). The higher acid levels are a big part of that for me, they have a precision, freshness, vibrancy and flavours that can be both familiar and unique. Oxidative wines are likely an acquired taste for many, but once you're hooked.... more please!

Cheers
Tim

[Polymer]

The next bracket kicked off with a couple of unexpected wines (well, from my perspective, anyway). The fifth wine is yellow gold in colour. The nose is the real point of difference – slightly sweaty, custard apple, scrumpy (not everyone knew what that is!), caramel , toffee and some secondary characters. The palate shows nuttiness and marzipan, and a couple of different layers of fruit. Acidity is good and assists with integrating the different palate characteristics, and the wine has great length. It’s the Domaine Le Flaive Bourgogne 2010

Sounds like this might've been premoxed from the descriptors...

Looks like a great event...blind tasting is great...as much as a I suck at taking what I see and objectively coming up with something...I love it..