Chardonnay Tasting Monday 26th April 2010

Monday afternoon 2.30pm the sun was shining, it was a typical warm autumn afternoon and the monthly informal wine tasting was about to get underway. This Month the theme is Australian Chardonnay, any region, any vintage. There were 9 Chardonnays in the line up and William was our sommelier this time round after having his wine voted number 1 in the last tasting. William did a fantastic job of organising the wines into their flights of 3. Even if we were all wondering what he was doing on his knees in the kitchen hiding behind the pantry door.

The wines were all tasted blind and we voted on each flight before the wines were revealed. At the end of the 3 flights we arranged the wines voted first in each flight, tasted them blind again side by side to get an overall winner, 2nd and 3rd place.

The first flight:

2008 Hay Shed Hill Margaret River WA:
Tropical fruit including Guava, Nectarine and Peach with a dash of oak spice soared from the glass. This followed through on the palate with perfectly balanced acidity and a perfect soft dash of Oak supporting that wonderful pure fruit. Impeccable balance and just so juicy. WOTF. 2nd overall.

2008 Shaw and Smith M3 Adelaide Hills SA:
Much bigger than the previous wine in the sense that this was what i would call that big bold style of Chardonnay with big fruit and a massive buttery dollop of Oak. Vanilla and Peach on the nose, in the mouth buttery and rich with a mouth coating texture. Spicy and almost oily with nectarine vanilla and spice. Big wine and i really like it. I would like to try this after 5 years in the cellar as i feel it would soften and integrate even further.

2008 Over The Shoulder Yarra Valley Vic:
Floral and Elegant both on the nose and in the mouth. I thought it rather slatey and mineraly with Melon and some citrus. A little short on the palate after the last two wines never the less crisp, elegant and easy to drink.














The second flight:

2008 Leeuwin Prelude Margaret River WA:
The nose on this wine threw me right from the word go. Herbaceous, Banana skin, faint Nectarine and a little funkiness. It followed pretty much the same in the mouth with perhaps some melon and what i thought seemed like Nettle without any funkiness. Well balanced and middle of the road between big and bold and the elegant wines. This seemed to speak more of where it was from than the fruit it was made from. I spent a good 5 minutes or more just smelling this wine. I loved it!

2007 Ashbrook Estate Margaret River WA:
The nose showed burnt Match, Flint, Vanilla and Peaches. The palate was intense with Peaches, Hazelnut, Nutmeg, spicy smokey Oak, intense, long and fairly well balanced. Lovely and Powerful. WOTF. 3rd Overall.

2007 Howard Park Margaret River WA:
Crushed flowers and i think Violet on the nose. The palate was elegant with Honey Dew Melon and Citrus with nice acid and the oak far away in the background. Soft and Crisp this would have been just fantastic with grilled Fish and a green salad.

The Third Flight:

2002 Brands Coonawarra SA (Magnum):
Buttery and soft with toast and the yellow peach fruit fading into the background this caressed the mouth but just seemed a little short and simple. It went rather well with the Paella served at the end of this flight however it was possibly past its prime and just a little simple. Medium in length, this did have great mouth feel and was happily consumed by most washing down the some great Paella.

2004 Bannockburn Geelong Vic:
Peach, Spice, Citrus and Hazelnut on the nose which followed to the palate with the complexity of some caramel and almond which added to the savoury side of the wine and its buttery mouth feel. This wine was well integrated, complex with a soft acid back bone and just divine to drink. Yum Yum Yum! WOTF. WOTN!

2008 Peregrine Central Otago NZ (Ringer):
Very tropical and floral on the nose even a little passion fruit? The palate showed Melon, Nectarine and a little citrus, elegant with lovely acidity. Even a touch floral. Lovely wine to drink.

During and before the wines were served we were treated to some great Mezz plates, Cheeses and warm country bread complete with whole seed and soya bean. After the 3 flights of wine had been tasted it was time to do a little work on filling our stomachs. This months host dished up a fantastic smoked Salmon Fettuccine and green side salad followed by a mouth watering Seafood Paella. These dishes were perfect in keeping with our theme of Chardonnay and did a great job in helping us to consume some of those left over Chardies. To finish things off we had two small deserts, the first Violet Panna Cotta with Black Currant Soup and secondly mini Pear Tart with Vanilla ice cream and Cinnamon, Citrus syrup. A very sweet and mouth watering end to some great wines, food and the usual awesome company!

Note:

WOTF = Wine Of The Flight
WOTN = Wine Of The Night