2003 Shadowfax Chardonnay
I was given this bottle by a mate, Steve, to taste after he thought it to be the best Chardonnay at Wine Australia and thus bought a 6-pack. Indeed, it is an exceptional wine.
Medium intensity on the nose but very full bodied on the palate. This wine leads with vanilla and cream from high quality oak on top of medium ripe Chardonnay flavours, particularly nectarine, with melon, hazelnut and a hint of peach. Quite Chablis-like. There is an oiliness that I dislike but this will dissipate with age and is easily overlooked due to the wine’s near perfect structural and textural facets. The wine is superbly long with fine acid melding harmoniously with the flavours. The hazelnut from the oak seems to work its way into the texture of the wine as a fine, grainy texture, similar to the oak handling of the 2003 Castagna “Ingénue†Viognier. The back palate explodes with structural power that is balanced but need a few years to settle down and show its harmonious best. Its 13.5% alcohol is well in the background. Rated Excellent, this wine is still quite elemental and will probably hit its drinking window in 3-5 years.
Interestingly, this wine is made from Geelong, Beechworth, Yarra Valley and Adelaide Hills fruit.
Adair