Tag Archives: Chardonnay

Toasted Head Chardonnay 2007

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I haven’t had a glass of this wine in a decade; it still has one of my favorite labels in the state (a fire-breathing bear), but I rarely shop at the places where you’d ordinarily see this (either Costco or dining-experience-style restaurants). Having a look at the bottle just now, it sure looks like the brand has gone walkabout over the last ten years: the address on the back is Woodbridge, which seems wrong; this was originally a R. H. Phillips wine, and the last time I remember researching them, they’d just completed an IPO and were (alongside Mondavi) one of the few California wineries that was publicly held.It looks like Constellation Brands now owns R. H. Phillips; strangely, Toasted Head seems to have been divorced from that brand entirely and is now a brand of its own. They own Mondavi now as well, and I’m guessing they’re now making this stuff in bulk out of the old Mondavi facilities in Woodbridge, hence the address change on the back of the bottle. So, finally, what we have here is a case of a small family winery having done well in the 90’s – and wound up as a virtual label with no real sense of place in the ’00s. Strange.So how is the wine? The nose is agreeably simple, smelling largely of cashew, white peach, and a little bit of banana. Fat and a little unwieldy in the mouth, it heads towards a bananas Foster finish with just a hint of oak propping it all up like a vinuous underwire bra. That being said, it isn’t really perceptibly sweet, which is good, and it does taste good enough to finish the bottle. I suppose what this is is your basic, standard-quality California chardonnay with buttery, oaky fruit and no distracting flavors (read: subtlety or nuance) to get in the way of your enjoyment. To be honest, this is strikes me as a cut-rate Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve chardonnay: if you like that, you’ll like this just as well – and not only is the bottle more beautiful, it’ll cost you a few dollars less. This really is exceptional value.Toasted Head
Price: $7
Closure: Cork

Wolf Blass White Label Chardonnay 2005

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First, provenance. I ended up with this bottle of wine (amongst others) courtesy of the Sydney Royal Wine Show, as a “thank you” for stewarding. The thing is, I can’t find out anything about it other than the fact that it won a silver medal at the 2008 Show. Nothing on the Wolf Blass website. So if you’re after some of this wine — sorry, can’t help you. Unless some of our readers (or the producer) can enlighten us all, of course.

It’s quite a tasty wine, though difficult too. The nose seems mostly influenced by winemaking rather than fruit — savoury mealiness, sweet vanilla oak, a touch of caramel. All pretty delicious if you don’t mind fruit flavours that take a complementary role in the overall profile. The fruit itself is lovely — white peach mostly — but oh-so subservient. Interestingly, this isn’t a totally juggy wine, and there’s enough of a funky thread to the aroma to present as challenging too.

In the mouth, some surprises. It’s not flabby at all, nicely propped up by acid in fact, and I am finding the fruit more prominent here than on the nose, at least initially. The attack is alive and crisp thanks to the acid, creating an impression of vibrant, fresh fruit, but this momentum isn’t maintained because the intensity of the fruit dips quickly as the wine moves towards the middle palate. It’s like a little explosion that disappears from view before you’ve finished taking in the effect. Is the fruit receding, or is the wine perhaps going through a stage? Who knows. Just as disappointment threatens to settle in, things pick up again on the after palate, though flavours here are more oak-driven. Classy oak, to be sure, but a bit blunt too. The finish slides into caramel and oat meal, and feels a bit hot to me.

Overall it seems a bit awkward and gangly, and it may be that I’m drinking it at a disadvantageous point in its trajectory.

Wolf Blass
Price: $A40
Closure: Cork

Tower Estate Hunter Valley Chardonnay 2007

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This no doubt seems absurd to normal people, but one of the reasons why I still look forward to tasting wine after ten or so years of considered consumption is that, over time, my tastes have changed quite dramatically, and with it my opinions on a range of wine-related things. So tasting wine isn’t all about that moment — it’s also about the whole journey. Chardonnay, for example. A few years ago, I found Chardonnay difficult to understand and enjoy, especially larger scale styles with a lot of winemaker input. I instinctively reached for the purity and accessibility of Riesling, and approached Chardonnay most comfortably from a Chablis angle.

Domaine Chandon Carneros Chardonnay 2005

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At first glance, this wine should be roughly the same as the Gloria Ferrer from last week. Both wines cost $14, both wines are from Los Carneros AVA, and both wines are produced by European companies that have a fair amount of history between them (at least in terms of producing sparkling wines).In the glass, everything seems to be the same as last week: this is a very bright, polished wine in the glass, if slightly more pale and less green than the Gloria Ferrer. Thankfully, there was no cork involved, so opening the bottle was a cinch… but I find I’m regretting it.The nose is basically stale movie butter popcorn with just a skosh of floor wax. There’s also just a hint of fresh green apple as well as a musty oakiness lurking around the corners; it smells just a little bit tired and more than a little bit boring.In the mouth, I can’t decide if this just tastes like flat sparkling wine (yuck) or a McDonalds-style sweetened My First Wine type product produced especially for the now-failed wine attraction at Disney’s California Adventure. It’s, well, gross: the sugars hang around in an irritating, louche manner better suited to Jean-Paul Belmondo than the bright California sun. Flavors are not overtly complex; a good jug of Odwalla organic orange juice is more interesting in terms of flavor profile. Worse yet, there’s a feckless whack of acidity that sneaks up on you at the very end of it; it all feels like you’ve just hired an inept hooker who just ran off with your wallet while you were still unlocking the hotel room door.I am not a fan. Avoid.Domaine Chandon
Price: $14
Closure: Stelvin

Gloria Ferrer Carneros Chardonnay 2006

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There’s nothing like a dry, brittle cork that falls apart directly into the bottle to start an afternoon’s drinking off right, is there? Thankfully, once the cork was extracted, what was left was a brilliant, overly clean-looking wine with pale tinges of green in the glass. On the nose, it comes across as decadent, rich, and full, promising ripe pear, Brazil nuts, and lots and lots of butter (hey, this is California, after all). However, what you taste isn’t what you smell, which is why this wine strikes me as a real winner given the price. It manages to come across as much more Chablis than Carneros at first, only relenting and delivering the toasty buttered goods on the finish, supported by nervy acidity that supports it all to great effect. Still, there’s enough complexity from oak and what I suspect is only partial malo that delivers a drinking experience unexpected at this price. This is pretty damn good stuff.Gloria Ferrer
Price: $14
Closure: Cork

Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Chardonnay 2006

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Never having had a Ridge chardonnay before, I’ll freely admit that I was expecting something entirely different. At first sniff, this is very much a buttery California chardonnay, with the tell-tale roasted nut nose and fat whack of malolactic fermentation. Mmm… delicious?Yes, delicious. Slightly chilled, the nose is complex and inviting, with sweet cream, pineapple (almost), roasted nuts, and something of a dusty note, light reflected on neglected wooden blinds. Curious!Fairly fat in the mouth, or at least wide, the secret weapon appears to be bright, assertive acidity that quickly cuts it down to size. Before the smooth, refreshing acidity on the finish, though, you’re treated to cashews and pears, summer citrus fruits, and again a sweet creaminess before the acidity arrives to wash it away – and then a very rich, leesy finish arrives to carry it all away on little cat feet. Surprisingly, there’s an almost medicinal note there as well that reminds me of my father’s podiatry office when I was a kid: an unusual ozonic lemon air freshener note (although that sounds terrible, it is in fact appealing in context). Some faint yeasty characterics are also apparently after the wine warms up a bit, subtly framing things in a lovely, earth way.Is this Chablis? Hell no. It it Californian? Hell yes. Most importantly, though: Is it delicious?Yes.Ridge
Price: $33
Closure: Cork

Clonakilla Chardonnay 2003

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It’s been two years and five months since the FAA banned liquids on airplanes, and to be honest I’m still miffed. One of the joys of travel was always coming home with a rucksack full of wine to be enjoyed over the next several years; sadly, that’s become far trickier than it used to be, given that you have to pack liquids in your luggage.

Back in 2005, Julian and I took a trip to Canberra to see a rugby match (among other things). We also were fortunate enough to stop by Murrumbateman on the way back to Sydney; this bottle is from that trip.

Time has been kind to this bottle; it’s survived both the trip back to Seattle and, two years ago, the move to California. On the nose, you have rich, buttery, oaky overtones reminiscent of serious California chardonnay; think Kistler. Pear freshness is edged with smoky barrel notes; I’m guessing there was lees stirring involved here too. The color is an impossibly bright, clear, medium yellow, shining in the glass.

On the palate, it initially seems thinner than I had expected, but then it settles in to a medium weight wine. The palate seems a bit hollow towards the finish; however, the wine is still agreeably fresh, tasting largely of fresh hay, butterscotch, and smoky barrel notes. It’s delicious, but at the same time not quite at the level of, say, Giaconda. Remarkable value, though.

Clonakilla
Price: $na
Closure: Stelvin

Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay 2005

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A couple of years ago, this wine wasn’t especially rewarding; tight, unyielding, totally bound up. Yet the intensity of its fruit shone through a clasped structure, so I purchased a few bottles for later tasting.

It’s quite different now. For a start, there are distinct flavour influences from time in bottle, mostly toast and crackly caramel in character. These ride atop juicier white peach and honeydew melon notes, themselves straddling vanilla cream. A precisely layered aroma profile. In the mouth, powerfully intense fruit flavours rush over the tongue with military precision — despite relaxing enough to allow a fuller expression of its fruit, this wine remains a focused experience. Acidity is quite prominent but noticeably less assertive than on initial release. The after palate and finish are especially lovely, with a blanket of sweet fruit gently settling in the mouth, lingering on and on, then smoothly tapering away. Quite complex, shapely and elegant.

Without wanting to imply restraint, this wine is quite an intellectual experience that contains its sensuality within a precisely etched framework. I’m reminded that, sometimes, clothing is infinitely more sexy than full frontal nakedness.

Seppelt
Price: $A30
Closure: Stelvin

Cloudy Bay Pelorus 2004

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It’s sparkling night at Full Pour, and what better occasion? I believe Chris has a bottle of this same wine, possibly for consumption this evening (in New Zealand), so consider this note a sort of virtual drinking session.

Of course, it’s totally fabulous. Quite an aggressive mousse that settles into a moderately fine bead. On the nose, exuberantly bready like fresh baguettes, plus some mushroom. Full, fragrant and distinctive, though not especially complex or detailed. The palate is an explosion of flavour. There’s a deal of savoury complexity but what hits one here is a big dollop of round, delicious Marlborough fruit. Weight is relatively full. Thank goodness it’s all quite dry. Mouthfeel is lively, with a smooth-feeling effervescence and some creaminess caressing the tongue. Excellent presence in the mouth and impressive length. Very far from Champagne, and all the better for it.

Bloody delicious. Happy 2009!!

Cloudy Bay
Price: $A50
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: December 2008

Te Mata Estate Elston Chardonnay 2007

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One of New Zealand’s higher profile Chardonnays.

Rich aromas that include yellow peach, matchstick, vanilla, toasted nuts and more. There’s certainly a lot going on here. Despite the aroma profile, it’s a little reticent in terms of expressiveness. Not so on the palate, where an impressive intensity of flavour is present almost immediately. Masses of peach and nougat flood the mouth, helped by a relatively viscous mouthfeel and tingly, yet subservient, acid. This is much more forward than my recollection of the 2006, and really quite complex. It’s also pretty worked and this, as with most things vinous, will be a matter of taste. From a full mid palate, the wine moves through an equally flavoursome after palate, more acid driven here, and on to a finish that tapers quite elegantly. Perhaps a little blousy for me, but there’s no denying the power of this fruit, nor the complexity and (relative) balance achieved through winemaking.

A fabulous wine if you’re in the mood for full-on New World Chardonnay.

Te Mata Estate
Price: $NZ40
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: December 2008