Tag Archives: Chardonnay

Domaine Rapet Père et Fils Pernand-Vergelesses 2005

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Temperature makes such a big difference to wine. Often, of a weekday evening, I don’t take the time to carefully bring my chosen bottle to the ideal serving temperature. If it’s a white, I’ll grab the bottle straight from the fridge, quietly congratulating myself on having been so organised as to have put one there in the first place.  I’ll open it right away, pour a glass, and sniff. Usually, as with tonight, the wine smells of nothing. But, if I’m lucky, a conversation will start as the wine warms a little. Little wisps of aroma emerge, then more, until it reaches full operating temperature. This white Burgundy, for example, smells increasingly of vulgar white flowers, melon and (the slightest bit rancid) butter. It’s not an explosive nose, but it shows an attractive (if slightly outré) character and good balance. It’s getting better as it warms. Entry is an éclat of flavour and acid texture. More rockmelon, caramel and butter spreads over the tongue as the wine slides through the mid-palate. The malo influences are obvious but they don’t rob the wine of freshness, thanks to assertive acid. Intensity is unexpected after the nose, and there’s enough complexity to keep things interesting. Texture is also remarkable, being tingly and rough and chalky in turn. This is a rustic wine, with bright, ripe flavours that are all slightly larger than life. Intense fruit continues to sing through the after palate, and the wine’s finish is decent and tasty, if perhaps attenuated due to acid.At $A47, this isn’t an especially cheap wine in absolute terms. I might reasonably expect more sophistication and refinement in a local wine at this price. But there’s no arguing with this wine’s drinkability and character. It’s very tasty and went extremely well with chicken salad.Domaine Rapet Père et FilsPrice: $A47Closure: CorkDate tasted: 2008

Chardonnier Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Saint-Véran 2005

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Another $A28, village-level white Burgundy from a lesser region, this time the Mâconnais. A pretty green-gold colour, slightly watery. On the nose, prickly, fresh and delicate fruit, almost grapey, with an edge of creamy nuttiness. No great impact but a sense of depth and subtlety that is alluring. The palate takes a definite step up in intensity. Entry shows acid that is both lively and fine, counterbalancd by a somewhat viscous mouthfeel. There’s good fruit flavour on the mid-palate, quite generous and soft, with some creamy flavours and textures that do not detract from the wine’s freshness. Fruit is mostly grapefruit/white stone fruit in spectrum, again quite delicate. Good presence through the after palate and finish, the wine ending up on a dry yet flavoursome note. It’s almost aperitif-like in character, and is lean enough to fill this role admirably.I like this wine. It’s not especially remarkable in any one area, but has a sense of sophistication and poise, without resorting to excessive leanness, that appeals to my taste. Responded very well to bacon and onion tart.ChardonnierPrice: $A28Closure: CorkDate tasted: May 2008

Domaine Ninot Rully La Barre 2005

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We’re on a Chardonnay-fest here at Full Pour, with a mix of French, Californian and Hunter Valley wines to taste over the coming weeks. Alas, Chardonnay isn’t a pauper’s hobby, which is part of the reason I’m so fond of Riesling and Semillon. Nevertheless, I’m sure there are “value priced” Chardonnays that can be rewarding to drink, and the state of my wine budget demands I seek them out. This village-level wine is from a region of Burgundy generally considered of “lesser” quality and interest: the Côte Chalonnaise. At $A28, it sits at a highly competitive price point in the Australian market right now.Quite a rich hay colour, excellent clarity. I served this way too cold and it smelled of nothing for about half an hour. As it warmed, aromas of vanilla cream, lightly fragrant peaches and honey emerged delicately from the glass. I’ve been sitting with it all night and it’s never going to be a slap in the face sort of wine. In fact, I’m still having to work pretty hard to get a sense of its aroma, but what’s there is delicate and pretty. The palate is more generous. Entry is quite focused, with a tight, acid-driven flow over the tongue. Tight, savoury grapefruit-like fruit dominates the mid-palate, which sizzles with freshness but remains subtle overall. This isn’t an especially worked style, although there’s a roundness to the middle and after palate that suggests some winemaking tricks. Quite satisfying length. This is a pretty, well made wine that shows good balance and clean varietal character.  With the vogue for tighter, less “fat” Chardonnays in full swing, this wine fits right in. My key criticism is that it lacks significant intensity of flavour (and the satisfaction one derives from it). Still, with cheaper Chardonnays often a carnival of vulgarity, I’m not going to complain too much.Domaine NinotPrice: $A28Closure: CorkDate tasted: May 2008

Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Napa Valley 2005

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Light scents of pineapple and Bosc pear drift out of the glass; the color if the wine is a sun-dappled, honey, golden straw. This is exactly the kind of a wine a prop manager could use for an 80s soap opera: imagine the reflection on the shoulder pads of the protagonist’s pantsuit, and you’re almost there.There’s no yeastiness to speak of, but there is a certain creaminess to the smell of the wine that’s very well judged. On the other hand, the wine seems to tends towards tropical fruits that don’t seem quite right for (what’s mostly) Carneros grown fruit; something smells like it’s been manipulated just a bit too much here.In the mouth, the first impression is of a wine that’s a bit flabby, but there’s jarring acidity somewhere in there as well; it’s all just slightly off balance. It seems bigger than it ought to be, with sort of a dead fruit effect: on the other hand, there are distinctive hints of good quality winemaker taste in there, presumably due to bâtonnage, barrel fermentation, and other tricks. On the whole, my best guess is that this is focus grouped to death. There are traces of a really lovely wine in here, to be sure, but on the whole it seems to have been teased out to more closely match the (bestselling) style guide that’s used to make stuff like Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve chardonnay… and I find that really depressing, because the elements for a strong, traditional California chardonnay are here: good fruit, well judged oak, and ripeness. The problem is simply that they appear to have tacked on the stuff they think will sell well (a certain sucrosité, a certain broadness), and it really doesn’t belong here.If anyone knows what this wine was like before the Canandaigua takeover, I’d love to know about it.Robert Mondavi WineryPrice: US $14Closure: CorkDate tasted: May 2008

Domaine Gautheron Chablis 2005

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I enjoy Chablis but don’t tend to drink it very much. Strange, as it’s both a very flexible style and generally excellent value. Well, there’s no time like the present to remedy such situations, so here we have a Chablis from the 2005 vintage, a year perhaps better known for reds than whites in this part of the world. Aromas of talc and flint, with hints of austere nectarine. Utter typicité, and quite lovely if you enjoy this style. The wine’s entry shows sophisticated texture, as it is both finely acidic and mouth filling. A cool, fresh mouthfeel, very focussed. Flavour becomes the primary element within the mid-palate, and it is very much in line with the nose: flint and tight stone fruit. Complexity and intensity are not especially remarkable, but the wine’s line is hard to fault. The after palate emphasises minerality and pushes strongly into a finish of powdery phenolics and quite good length.A pure, if somewhat simple, wine that delivers a good dose of Chablis character. It’s a good food wine (try it with chicken salad) and also works as an aperitif. Very good value.Domaine GautheronPrice: $A28Closure: CorkDate tasted: April 2008

De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Noir Chardonnay NV

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I’m still on my “anything but Champagne” quest and last night saw me consume the most inexpensive sparkling wine I’ve had in years. Nowadays, $A8 buys you about half a bottle of Seppelt Fleur de Lys or a whole 750ml of this number from De Bortoli. Now, the Windy Peak range has a reputation for reliable quality at an excellent price, and even the Pinot Noir has been known to be quite drinkable — no mean feat for around $A10. Sparkling wine, though, accelerates the challenge somewhat, as it’s rare, in my experience anyway, to find true quality and interest at the lowest levels of price.A lively, coarse mousse that gives way to not much bead at all, but a pretty, rose-tinted wine of good clarity. The nose hints at a broad flavor profile, and shows slightly chunky strawberry and citrus notes, alongside some yeasty complexity. It’s kind of obvious and lacking in freshness. The palate offers a mouth full of fruit flavour, again mostly strawberry and citrus, quite full for the style, slightly effervescent, and easy to drink. There’s a slight mustiness that leads me to suspect a mild to moderate level of cork taint, so it’s hard for me to say this bottle is representative. The wine went well with light food.Keeping in mind possible cork taint, this wine is easy and full flavoured, but a little uninteresting too. I’d like to taste a fresher bottle, to see if the overall profile of the wine gains freshness and edge, as this would contribute greatly to enjoyment. De Bortoli Price: $A8Closure: CorkDate tasted: March 2008

Petaluma Croser 2005

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People drink sparkling wine for all sorts of reasons, and it seems even those who don’t like wine will go for a glass of bubbly on occasion. Personally, I often enjoy sparkling wine as an aperitif; perhaps its most common use. Dinner the other evening saw a bottle of Croser opened as we awaited our entrées. A fairly aggressive mousse and persistent, fine bead. On the nose, sprightly aromas of cut apple and citrus, with a hint of baked good complexity. So far so good. In the mouth, it becomes evident how fruit-driven this wine is, and I guess whether you like it will depend on how you like your sparking wine. Round, full fruit flavours of apple and citrus occupy the wine’s entry and mid-palate, before structure starts to take over and slim the wine down towards the after palate. OK finish. I haven’t had Croser for a while, but remember it being a leaner wine in its youth. It’s certainly lively in the mouth, and very approachable, but without much complexity at the moment.For my taste, it’s a simple wine, lacking the sort of savoury excitement I enjoy in other sparklers. I’m not sure it worked terribly well as an aperitif either, given the fullness of its fruit profile. Drink this one with your food, not before it.PetalumaPrice: $A35Closure: CorkDate tasted: March 2008

Cumulus Climbing Chardonnay 2006

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I’m not terribly familiar with wines from the Orange region in NSW, but there’s no time like the present to become acquainted with new friends. I picked up this bottle on the way home as accompaniment for chicken salad.The aroma of this wine reminds me in a strange way of moderately aged Hunter Semillon. It’s an intense yet subtle nose that wafts out of the glass slowly. A mix of white stone fruit (more stone than fruit) and some astringent greenness, a bit like honeydew without the sugar. There’s also a pleasingly offbeat nuttiness that reminds me of roasted pine nuts. Entry is quite powerful, with intense and slightly clingy fruit flavour coating the tongue from the tip onwards. Although it’s a lively, acidic wine, the emphasis is on forward cool-climate Chardonnay fruit and some nutty oak. Flavour is generous, yet it’s a focused wine that retains its shape through the palate. The after palate emphasises nutty, caramel oak as it moves to a decent finish. This won’t be to everyone’s taste, especially not those who favour a more worked, broad Chardonnay style. But for me, it’s a characterful wine that goes well with food or on its own. Good value. I should also mention the label, which is stylishly individual and always stands out in the retail lineup.Cumulus WinesPrice: $A18Closure: StelvinDate tasted: February 2008

Skillogalee Chardonnay 2005

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I don’t remember trying a Chardonnay when I was last at cellar door, but the empty bottle in the recycling bin proves there is indeed one in the Skillogalee range. According to the winery’s web site, there were 400 cases made from 1ha of mature (25 year old) vines. The nose is a throwback to the (some might say bad) old days of quite generously oaked Chardonnay, expressing as it does a whack of spicy, slightly varnishy oak ahead of more subtle Chardonnay fruit. I sat with the wine all evening and the oak continued to show prominently and ahead of any fruit-derived aroma. The palate is a continuation of this theme, with spicy, smoky and broad oak dominating reticent Chardonnay fruit of the yellow peach variety. I’m not opposed to a more worked style of Chardonnay that uses oak as a key flavour component, but a certain intensity of fruit needs to be present to provide balance, and I didn’t feel it was quite there in this wine. There’s some buttery richness that is, I presume, derived from malo, and acid is pretty soft. Finish is unremarkable.I wasn’t super impressed with this wine, as I kept wishing the fruit would step up more assertively to the oak treatment. As it is, a wine for lovers of spicy oak rather than Chardonnay fruit.SkillogaleeCost: $A20Closure: StelvinDate tasted: February 2008

Tyrrell's Vat 63 Chardonnay Semillon 2007

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Is there anything more terminally daggy than the Semillon Chardonnay blend? Perhaps the mullet, but even that seems to enjoy periods of resurgent popularity. Which is a shame, because the mullet really does deserve a good, long rest. This wine, however, is bloody nice. According to the back label, the Chardonnay and Semillon were separately vinified, then blended prior to bottling.