Tag Archives: Chardonnay

Domaine Alain Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles 2007

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It’s new year’s eve and I’m cracking open the good stuff.

A striking mix of lean minerality, powerful citrus fruit and well-controlled winemaker input. The nose is reticent for now, allowing mere wisps of prickly slate, freshly cut pear, grapefruit rind and green nuts to escape its grasp. If drinking now, best not to serve it too cold; allow it to warm and release as much aroma as it is willing. I sense a slow strip tease, one that may unfold over several years and whose narrative will only resolve at some uncertain point in the future, if ever.

The palate confirms what the nose only hints at: this is a wine of confident power and effortless complexity. What’s immediately obvious is the sustained thrust of the fruit; it really explodes on entry and carries right through the finish. This is, however, a wine made in a restrained mould, so one doesn’t get slutty gobs of peachy fruit. Instead, there’s a crisp steel mineral line that underlines the whole, challenged and softened by citrus and white peach fruit that seems to float above the more angular flavour components, not exactly integrated but rather acting as counterpoint. This wine isn’t about harmony, but nor is it about noisy contrasts. It sits somewhere in between, each side of its character pulling and pushing the other, creating tensions right along the line and never letting go their grip of the drinker. In objective quality terms this wine has the stuff: intensity, structure, line. But it’s the aesthetics on show that fascinate me and that elevate this wine above others of a similar level of technical accomplishment.

A beautiful, challenging wine.

Domaine Alain Chavy
Price: $A78.50
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Domaine du Clos Salomon Montagny le Clou 2007

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I tasted the 2006 edition of this wine, and on balance feel the 2007 vintage is more achieved. It retains the essentially funky character of the fruit while rounding out the style to a more generous level. Still an off-centre aroma profile, with prickles of sulfur introducing fleshy yellow peach, roasted cashews and Thai basil. It has really blossomed after a couple of hours in the glass, so don’t serve this too cold, and be prepared to give it time. It ends up in a gentle place; this is never going to knock your socks off with power, but it glows with nuance and character.

Some oxidative character not evident on the nose asserts itself in the mouth, quite pleasantly so. There’s an essential discordance to the flavour profile that I am enjoying, though I suspect it may turn some drinkers off. If, however, you can get past the idea that wines ought to be neat and tidy aesthetic experiences, you may value the clash of peach, grapefruit, bitter herbs and creamy nuts that tumble over each other as this wine rushes past the middle palate. The after palate and finish are more focused, concentrating on yellow grapefruit flavours and very fine, firm acid. Intensity does not rise above a moderate level, and there’s a nice irony, I think, to the quiet way in which this wine seeks to argue with itself.

A really interesting, smart wine for lovers of the offbeat.

Clos Salomon
Price: $A30
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Domaine Alain Chavy Bourgogne 2007

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I’ve had some delicious encounters with the wines of this Puligny-Montrachet based producer over the past few years, but until now have never had occasion to taste his basic white Burgundy. In my experience, Chavy’s wines are very cleanly made and tend towards austerity in style; this wine is no exception.

Immediately, it lacks the intensity and crystalline crispness of the 1er cru wines in Chavy’s portfolio, yet this in no way offers a disappointing aroma. In fact, it’s much finer and more complex than one might reasonably expect from a wine at this level, with subtle nutty aromas sitting atop crisp honeydew, lemon and even a touch of prickly minerality. It seems just right for a straight Bourgogne; moderate in volume, accessible in profile, quite easygoing.

These qualities carry through to the palate, which is softly generous without losing its essentially crisp character. What I like most about this wine is the way it swells in the mouth without pretentiousness, pitching its intensity at a moderate level and its flavour profile at a reasonable, not overwhelming, degree of complexity. Indeed, this is a lesson in entry level Chardonnay, and embodies quite a different approach from the often sledgehammer-like flavour profiles of local Chardonnays at this price point. There’s nothing wrong with intensity, to be sure, but I believe a “more is more” approach to winemaking often loses sight of a wine’s function and purpose for drinkers. This is a great food wine, caressing the tongue with gentle flavour and lightly mineral texture, begging for the sort of comforting meal one might look forward to on a special weeknight.

Lovely and delicious. Great to see a Diam seal, too.

Domaine Alain Chavy
Price: $A30
Closure: Diam
Source: Retail

Domaine Ninot Rully La Barre 2007

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I’ve tasted one previous vintage of this label, the 2005, and at the time came away with mixed feelings. On the one hand, a cheap way to taste some Burgundy goodness, on the other a rather underwhelming experience in absolute terms. So how’s this more recent vintage, then?

Once some funky sulphur blows off, the nose strongly suggests a degree of oxidation; there’s as much honey as there is vanilla ice cream and ripe papaya fruit. The 2005 had a similar mix of flavours, but (from memory at least) this is a more exuberant wine, tilting more definitely towards a drink-now balance of oxidative versus fresh flavours. It’s quite attractive, really, if somewhat simple, and much more expressive than I remember the 2005 to have been. Presuming these flavours are a result of oxidative handling, it’s a bold style to chase.

The palate is generous in scale, with rather lazy honey flavours accompanied by browned apple and melon fruit. The oxidative flavours are a little distracting at this point, though lively acid keeps things more or less in check. Mouthfeel moves through a few stages, from lightly textured on entry through voluptuous on the middle palate and sharp-ish through the finish. It’s all quite fun and drinkable, yet I’m not feeling entirely satisfied with the sophistication (or lack thereof) of the flavour profile, especially at this price point, and compared to local wines.

Domaine Ninot
Price: $A30
Closure: Synthetic cork
Source: Retail

Windowrie Family Reserve Sparkling 2010

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Curiously, the label makes no mention of the grape variety from which this wine is made. A quick search shows the answer to be Chardonnay, which means this is a blanc de blancs. So much more enticing, no?

In the end, I wanted to like this wine more than I did. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it; in fact, it went quite well with a mid-week fish and chip fest. The disappointment for me here lies in this wine’s coarseness of texture, something that will hold any sparkling wine back, so dependent is the style on a certain finesse of spritz and delicacy of palate. No, this is full-throttle, more soft-drink than Champagne in terms of its mousse and bead.

On the plus side, there’s real flavour locked in this wine, the fruit clearly possessing a degree of power, if not subtlety. Almost tropical in character, this flavour profile is about as far away from Champagne as one might get, but I don’t believe that automatically devalues the style. What I miss from the model, though, is the savoury complexity that transforms the best sparkling wines from frivolous fun to something worth considering as more than a simple accompaniment to miniature deep fried food. There are hints of brioche and mushroom, but they don’t stand a chance against all that buxom fruit flavour and what appears to be a reasonably generous dosage. The after palate and finish are rich and clingy, not quite showing the freshness one might look for.

There are better value wines at this price point (the standard Brown Brothers springs to mind), but I am glad Windowrie is trying something new and upscale with this wine. The packaging is quite beautiful and, although it’s not pressing my Champagne-loving buttons, this is undeniably flavoursome and fun. I hope it finds an audience.

Windowrie
Price: $A25
Closure: Cork
Source: Sample

Domaine des Nembrets Denis Barraud Pouilly-Fuissé "Sur La Roche" Vieilles Vignes 2008

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What is it about Chardonnay?

Flying back to California last Monday, I was lucky enough to score a guest pass to the ANA lounge in Tokyo airport. I was delighted to find that they had all you can drink, well, everything available, including Grace Family Vineyards koshu, which is a pretty damn good wine made from an indigenous Japanese grape that you never, ever see outside of Japan. After pouring myself a glass, I noticed a generically middle class American woman staring at my glass with a look of obvious disgust. “It’s koshu,” I said. “It’s delicious, they don’t export it, you almost never see it. Would you like to try some?” “No,” she said. “I was looking for the Chardonnay.”

Later on in the week, I received an E-mail from a male reader concerning a review of a Pouilly-Fumé I’d posted earlier in the year. “You might want to change your notes on this wine. Sauvignon Blanc not CHARDONNAY…,” it read. In short, pretty much the opposite reaction: because the review contained the word “chardonnay,” it triggered disgust that I had somehow mistaken sauv blanc for chardonnay, which of course would be a most grievous offense. After all, if you’re a sauv blanc drinkin’ kind of guy, wouldn’t you be offended if someone mistook your drink for, you know, CHARDONNAY?

As a result of all of this, I’m sitting here with a glass of Pouilly-Fuissé, partly because I want a glass, and partly because I want to somehow desperately prove that I do in fact know the difference between Fumé and Fuissé. So: about this wine…How do I know Chardonnay is a noble grape? Simple: I’ve had so many different tasting chardonnays in my life that the only other white grape that comes close is Riesling. With gewürztraminer or viognier, muscat or pinot gris, there aren’t too many surprises (I’m looking at you, Josko Gravner): you know what you’re in for. But with Chardonnay, well, you have to know more about where it came from and potentially something about who made it in order to know what you’re getting yourself into exactly. Me, I was never a great student, and although I’m pretty sure I once passed an exam where I had to explain why Chablis was different than other white Burgundy, I still can’t remember the details of all of the other appellations. Pouilly-Fuissé, Meursault, Montrachet, you name it: they’re not Chablis, so they’re probably manipulated more, but other than that? You got me. All I can do is describe this one wine.

Strikingly bright, there’s something about this wine that doesn’t look quite right to me: it’s got that dead sheen of a filtered wine. The color’s darker than Chablis, too: if anything, it reminds me of a flat German pilsener, something like Kölsch that was left out overnight. The nose is instantly appealing, with a brief suggestion of green apple quickly subsumed by bright acidity, movie theater popcorn butter (just the tiniest amount, mind you), and the warm, sunny smell of rocks and freshly washed sheets drying in the sun after being sprayed with lavender water: it’s a friendly, moderately complex nose that smells like American perfume. In short, it smells of clean.

On entry, the wine is immediately surprising, showing greater complexity than the nose would suggest. There’s an immediate suggestion of cashew butter and pear, quickly followed by apple cider, perhaps slightly oxidized notes (stupid cork!), quickly swelling to a tasteful crescendo of cream tending towards butter gently lifted by subtle oak. The texture is textbook: rich and creamy, but elegant, not overwrought. Simultaneously, there’s that sheen of incredible freshness, counterbalanced by sun-dried herbs and a curious note that frankly reminds me of those green not-quite-pickles you sometimes get in New York delis, of green youthful exuberance. The finish takes its own sweet time, oh does it ever, lazily circling through variations of spice, toast, butter, nuts, and beautifully acidic fruit.

In short, it’s damn good. The only thing that gives me pause is that I honestly do wonder if the cork’s contributing something here that it shouldn’t: I occasionally get hints of creeping oxidation that I’m not sure are intentional – but they don’t particularly dent the experience, so I really can’t complain, especially at this price.

Scarborough Blue Label Chardonnay 2009

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Though just as generously flavoursome as its Yellow Label sibling, this wine is made in quite a different style, more aligned to the contemporary idiom. There’s no new oak, its fruit is crisp and fresh, its complexity apparently lees-derived with only partial malolactic fermentation.

The nose is crisp, flinty aromas overlaying white nectarine and some funk, possibly sulfurous in nature. Its impact is savoury and rather chiselled; this doesn’t present as an especially buxom style. But there’s a nice depth to the aroma that prevents it from being an exclusively high toned aroma profile.

The palate shows some richer fruit alongside a continuation of the nose’s savouriness. Entry is very flavoursome, an initially crisp mouthfeel becoming glossier and fuller towards the middle palate. A nice array of fruit flavours fans out here; there’s citrus and peach in equal measure, with just a hint of butterscotch. Mouthfeel is especially interesting, showing good texture and detail in a contradictorily soft package. A fresh herbal twang asserts through the after palate. The finish is sharp and lengthy.

An attractive style, well executed and priced.

Scarborough
Price: $A19
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Scarborough Yellow Label Chardonnay 2007

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Chardonnay, let alone Hunter Chardonnay, is hardly at the vanguard of vinous fashion, so one could be forgiven for greeting this Scarborough wine a shrug. It pays to remember, though, the Hunter has a special place in the history of Australian Chardonnay, and continues to be the home of two of Australia’s more sought after peaches: the Lake’s Folly white and Tyrrell’s Vat 47. Scarborough is something of a Chardonnay specialist, having earned an enviable reputation for this varietal, so I approached this wine with high expectations.

The nose is fresh and clean, showing aromas of butter, peach, a little bit of minerality, perhaps a herbal twang and some smokey toast. Complex, then, but its buttery balance speaks more of enjoyment than analysis. I like that the oak is subdued, the wine appearing to rely more on fruit character and other forms of winemaking input (some lees work, I suspect) to achieve its aroma profile.

The palate takes a step up in expressiveness, being quite rich and full-flavoured. Entry is strikingly flavoursome, a nice spectrum of peach, citrus and butter notes caressing the tongue and paving the way for a middle palate that is quite flooded with fruit. The flavours are very clean at this point, showing good definition and shape, supported by easygoing acidity. I feel this wine’s textural dimension, though, isn’t quite balanced, being too reticent and consequently somewhat overwhelmed by the fullness of the fruit flavour. I’d like to feel a bit more mealiness on my tongue on the mid-palate, which would add more sophistication to the palate structure. The after palate does offer a bit more in this regard, and this helps carry the wine through a finish that seemed a bit hot to me.

Lovely fruit here, made in a gloriously unfashionable style that I admit to enjoying more often than not. It’s not over the top, simply generous and warm. Very well priced.

Scarborough
Price: $A21
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Ten Minutes by Tractor 2008 single vineyard wines

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Recently, the very straightforward General Manager of Mornington Peninsula-based producer Ten Minutes by Tractor, Chris Hamilton, asked me to write some tasting notes for the winery’s use. I mention this both by way of disclosure and to make a particular observation. When I talked with Chris about the brief, I assumed he wanted the typically concise, descriptive notes one often sees attached to wine marketing material. Instead, he asked me to write in the style of my notes on this site. 

When I write for Full Pour, my intent is far from commercial and so, I believe, are the resultant notes. So it fascinated me that a producer might want to commission similar material, complete with the extravagances of length and style in which I often indulge. 
It pleases me to note all the wines tasted were good. The single vineyard labels, however, stand out as the most authentic representation of what Ten Minutes by Tractor is doing. I tasted two Chardonnays (Wallis and McCutcheon) and three Pinot Noirs (Wallis, McCutcheon and Judd). All vineyards are in the Main Ridge sub-region of the Mornington Peninsula, just ten minutes away from each other as the tractor flies. The material provided to me included copious information about vineyard elevations, clones, viticulture and winemaking. The approach strikes me in general as somewhat obsessive, and in particular as striving towards an understanding of differences between wines wrought by specific variables between vineyards. This is the mad scientist approach to the aesthetics of wine, and I love it.
These notes are my own personal write-ups, different from those provided to the winery for is use.
Wallis Vineyard Chardonnay 2008


Instant cool climate Chardonnay with a fireside warmth twist. The aroma shows crushed rocks, lean oak, oatmeal and predominantly grapefruit-like citrus. It’s quite savoury and austere in a way, but there’s a glimmer of enticing warmth at its core, like a candle shining in the midst of a winter snowstorm. I think this flows from a real funkiness to the aroma, something slightly off-center and quirky, that adds humanity to what can sometimes be a rather robotic Chardonnay style. 
The palate trades on this tension between cool collectedness and a flavour profile that teases with its darting cuddliness. It’s all fine and poised, with a pleasingly slippery mouthfeel and the sort of detail that rewards slow drinking. Overall, this is a really subtle wine, low-key and humble, but full of interest too. Quietly seductive.
McCutcheon Vineyard Chardonnay 2008 
Both different from and strikingly similar to the Wallis wine. This is altogether more powerful and direct, with an aroma full of thrust and parry, pure citrus fruit, spice and mealiness. Its power is well controlled, and if I were to characterise the aroma profile to set it apart from the Wallis, I’d say this is cooler, more chiselled, perhaps more detailed, certainly more masculine. Fascinating that viticulture and winemaking were essentially identical for both wines.
The entry shows a nice cut of minerality alongside more citrus and vanilla spice. There’s a soothing caress of viscosity on the palate which balances out robust acidity and makes way for fruit flavours to express themselves. The after palate is full of pithy grapefruit and the finish shows really refreshing bitterness, in the most positive sense. I reckon this will get better over the medium term (5 years or so). 
McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008


One thing I noticed across all the single vineyard Pinots was their lack of colour density. The hues themselves are most attractive and fresh, but each wine is quite see-through, which I feel is one of the pleasures of this variety. I love how something so insubstantial-looking can be so powerful.
The nose here seems ideally balanced between varietal sour cherry and a catalogue of spices, damp earth and the sweetness of char siu. It’s all quite seamless, moving through its modes with no bumpiness or pause. On entry, good intensity without heaviness. It’s immediately complex, with seemingly all parts of the cherry (pulp, skin, pips) included in the lovely flavour profile. The middle palate introduces some sticky caramel before nicely textured acidity sweeps in to move one through the after palate. Grainy tannins adds to the mouthfeel and help with persistence through the finish. 
For drinking now, my favourite of the three single vineyard Pinots, thanks to its beautiful balance.
Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008 
If the McCutcheon is a dilettante, spreading itself across all its elements equally, the Wallis Vineyard Pinot is the specialist, diving deep into a particular expression of Pinot that is more mysterious and difficult to unravel.
The aroma’s first impression is of thick impenetrability. There are layers of spiced wood, sour cherries, vanilla and undergrowth, all swirling to form a dense fabric of smells that is quite hard to tease apart. There’s a lovely sappiness that arcs over the aroma too, which tends to unify the elements and provide some light. 
There’s slightly more fruit emphasis in the mouth, though it remains a seriously dark expression of cherry. It’s concentrated and savoury, no one aspect dominating yet with the whole existing in a subterranean place, compact and firm. Texture is wonderful, with plenty of tannins emerging on the middle palate and continuing down the line, and a subdued acid line running the whole length. There’s a dip in intensity as the wine progresses down its line and this, combined with the tightly held flavour profile, suggests the Wallis more than the other two Pinots will benefit from bottle age. 
Judd Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008

This wine is tangibly different again from the Wallis and McCutcheon. One obvious difference from a viticultural perspective is this vineyard is planted to the 115 Pinot clone, as opposed to the others which carry MV6. 115 is known for its more straightforwardly fruity flavour profile, and this comes through into the finished wine. 
A deeply spiced aroma profile that is nonetheless dominated by heady, ripe cherries and fresh plum pulp. More in-your-face than the other two wines, this is openly seductive in character. It’s all curves and femininity, quite voluptuous really.
The way it enters the mouth is wild: an initial pause followed by a dramatic enlargement of  scale that is quite surprising. After wedging your palate open, it supplies gobs of sweet fruit onto the tongue. The fruit character is very pretty, all maraschino cherries framed by attractive tartness. Some oak is present in support, and is well matched to the fruit. I just can’t get over the physical aspects of this wine’s feel in the mouth, though; this alone makes it worth experiencing, for its sensuality but also its sophistication. A very long finish.

Ten Minutes by Tractor
Price: $55-70
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Moppity Vineyards Chardonnay 2008

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Though this producer is based in Hilltops, the fruit for this wine was sourced from Tumbarumba. Curious region. It would have to be one of our lower profile regions, yet carries a reputation for exceptional Chardonnay (amongst other things), its fruit often ending up in premium Penfolds table wines, for example. It’s a beautiful part of the world too, and part of me wonders how special a destination it might become should a critical mass of cellar doors ever be achieved. I can think of worse places to visit.

Anyway, to the wine itself, which is a good rendition of lean Chardonnay in a contemporary Australian idiom. I thought at first sniff it was quite worked, and it’s true there’s some winemaking going on, but as I’ve continued to smell this, its fruit has come to the fore, pushing past some mealy and lightly oaked flavours. There’s white nectarine and a bit of grapefruit mostly, clean and fleshy.
The palate shows impressive power; it’s at this stage I am prompted to reflect on the price of this wine and conclude there’s an awful lot of value here. Real thrust onto the tongue, with preserved lemons and stonefruit flowing freely, followed quickly by some higher toned flavours, including roasted nuts and oatmeal. The point is, it’s coherent and strong, with good presence in the mouth and a real sense of dashing and style. There’s perhaps a lack of subtlety, an absence of light and shade, that separates this from the next tier of wines. But what’s here is so convincing, it’s hard not to enjoy.
A really worthwhile wine.

Moppity Vineyards
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample