Cape Mentelle Chardonnay
The citrus rind and grapefuit lead the palate to an overall fine yet textural journey. Cape Mentelle Chardonnay had this distinctive minerally line too, apparent with focussed refreshing acidity. Faint nuancesof soft nougat and cashews also add to what is a harmonious balance and an elegant and length finish.
Chateau Rieussec
Domaine de Chevalier
Château Cos d'Estournel
Château Latour Martillac
Opalie de Château Coutet
Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay
The wines of Fraser Gallop Estate are intensely flavoured, textured and complex. Only the finest quality French oak barrels are used for all Fraser Gallop Estate wines, with very specific Bordelais coopers used for the Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends, and Burgundian coopers for the Chardonnay. The complete winemaking process takes place at the estate - picking to vinification to barrel maturation to bottling to cellaring. Fraser Gallop Estate is an estate grown, produced and bottled wine. Flavours of lemon curd and grapefruit with searing length. A wine with clarity and finesse. A tightly focussed and very precise wine showing seamless fruit purity with the lightly toasted French oak very much in the background. Crystalline acidity and a mouth-watering finish complete this Chardonnay.
Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay
Sourced and grown in the Adelaide Hills, this is a fine example of how good Chardonnay from this region can be. This is a blend of 3 different cultivars of the Chardonnay grape. Bunch pressed and in part wild fermented. Partial malolactic fermentation imparts further complexity. A beautifully textured and complex wine.
Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay
Giant Steps plays it's part in the rapid accension of Australian Chardonnay back to the position it once held here. That being of the king of white varieties. This is a very stylish numbe from Phil Sexton and his team. Stonefruit, melon and butterscotch characters are supported by vanillin oak and the palate is long and textured with a clean crisp finish.
Giovanni Rosso Etna Bianco
There’s nothing mysterious or untoward in the winemaking for this beauty. It’s kept on skins for a short period, then pressed, juice fermented over a couple of weeks, and aged on lees in stainless steel for five months. As with all Giovanni Rosso’s wines, this is about site. Site, and the ancient grapes (mostly carricante) that are thought to have been grown on the slopes of Mt Etna for at least 1,000 years. So they’ve had time to acclimatise. It’s a gorgeous, zesty-herby white, soft and pillowy and all propped up by a precise and racy acidity. It’s super long, and just bordering on mouthwatering. Quite subtle flavours flitting around the edges, hiding in the shadows and peeking out when you’re not concentrating.