A fair bit of tasting over the past week, though not much blogging. Here are some highlights.

The 2009 Christian Moreau Chablis AC strikes me as a lovely wine and considerably more pure than a 1er Cru from the same producer tasted the same evening. The palate structure in particular is excellent, with good flow through the mouth and impeccable balance. Not overly intense, but nicely put together. Fruit flavours firmly in the grapefruit spectrum. At the opposite end of the Chardonnay spectrum is the 2008 Eldridge Estate from the Mornington Peninsula. Quite powerful with honeydew melon, cream and funk on the nose, plus a few grilled nuts and some spice for good measure. Palate is quite big and full, not necessarily very refined, but certainly a lot of fun. Plenty of minerality on the palate and an almost-dashing silhouette, assaulted here and there by lumpy, fleshy fruit. I really enjoyed this.

Also providing a lot of pleasure is Fraser Gallop’s 2009 Estate Chardonnay. Fabulous drive and line with a good deal of intense peach and grapefruit. Despite its scale, the fruit is contained within a firmly articulated structure, so it’s never blousy. Nice minerality, nice texture, all finished with a twist of bitters towards the finish and a squeeze of orange juice acid. Nice wine.

From Mount Barker comes another excellent wine, this time from Forest Hill Estate. Its 2009 Chardonnay is a super-tight style, with the sort of nose that bristles and rears up as you approach it. Lovely detail, minerals, stink. The palate is ultra-focused and powerful, lots of complexity without being overwhelming in any way. To be critical, it’s all perhaps a bit hard, though that’s a matter of taste.

If the Forest Hill displayed some Riesling-like character, the 2001 Karra Yerta Riesling shows us all how it’s done. Never released (made instead for private consumption), I was fortunate enough to taste this through the week. At ten years of age, this is a mere pup, with utterly searing acid and typically pastel fruit notes both highlights. Not much to say other than this is definitive Eden Riesling and will go at least another ten years, if not longer. To be so lucky as to have a bottle in my cellar.