It’s a worked Chardonnay of generosity, and yet ultimately one of restraint. It has a classic nose of grilled nuts, melon, spice, and a lovely milkiness. With a bit of air and close to room temperature, it drinks beautifully. It has tremendous length. You can savour the texture and flavour long after you’ve swallowed. It tastes of melon and citrus, has a lovely spice and nuttiness, and is rounded off by a beautiful touch of creaminess. All of this is underpinned by a fine, yet unwavering acidity. Like many great wines it manages to demonstrate power and elegance all at once. Drink anytime from now through the next 5 years. 4.5 Stars.
Rated:
RRP: $50
ABV: 13.5%
Website: http://www.tarrawarra.com.au/
Red
3 comments:
Sounds splendid Red :) I loved 2005 for Yarra Valley chardonnay and this sounds right on the style button. I think 'generosity and restraint' plus 'power and elegance' pretty much sums up what I love to see in chardonnay. For everyone who says leanness and restraint are tops or boldness is bad, I personally like something which finds a perfectly balanced middle ground. That's gold to me; a complex contradiction of terms. After all, it is chardonnay. :)
Cheers,
Chris P
Agreed. The understandable backlash against big, blousy Chardonnay, has arguably gone too far the other way. I often here winemakers at tastings these days proclaiming proudly that their Chardonnay sees "no malo". That's fine in one sense given different levels of natural acidity, but given many a great white Burgundy undergoes 100% Malolactic fermentation, "no malo" is certainly not the cornerstone of great Chardonnay
"hear winemakers" ;-)
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