2010 Melville Chardonnay Estate Clone 76 - Inox

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 89.6 points

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  10/23/2021 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  This wine is made not with any Chardonnay clones, but solely with Chardonnay Clone 76. The "Inox" part means the wine is fermented and aged only in stainless steel, so it doesn't see any oak during the vinification. 14,5% alcohol.
  
  Still surprisingly youthful pale yellow-green color. Clean and relatively youthful nose with bright aromas of lemony citrus fruits, some ripe grapefruit tones, a little bit of smoky reduction and a developed hint of nutty complexity. The wine feels ripe, youthful and quite lively on the palate with a medium body and clean flavors of juicy golden apples, some nectarine, light sweet notes of white peach, a little bit of leesy richness and a hint of steely minerality. The acidity feels high at first, but there's a hint of zippy, crisp character here making me think the wine has a tiniest bit of CO2, as the acidity feels somewhat lower - albeit still quite high - after a little while. The finish is fresh, clean and quite refreshing with moderately long flavors of crunchy Golden Delicious apple, some juicy citrus fruit notes of lemon and pomelo, light leesy tones, a little bit of steely minerality and an evolved, nutty hint of slivered almonds.
  
  A lovely, bright and precise California Chardonnay made in a style more reminiscent of Chablis than classic, rich and buttery Cali Chard - although the wine is admittedly slightly more ripe than your typical Chablis. What surprised me the most here, however, how remarkably youthful the wine still is now at 11 years of age, showing just a little bit of developed nuttiness, otherwise coming across as very bright, precise and fruit-forward, lacking any oxidative or tired qualities. A very nice effort, priced according to its quality at 34,50€.

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  7/26/2016 - 1961Vintage Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Simply killer!

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  5/28/2016 - drrobvino wrote: 82 Points

  Consumed at Robert's grad party.
  Notes of slightly oxidized red apples on the 2nd day, this wine shows off the oak first and foremost, with slightly wood-derived tannins that are a bit edgy and harsh.
  The butteriness is evident, but the acidity is not aptly suited to conquer the vanilla and the massively ripened orchard and tropical fruits in the glass.
  Drink now if you have any left. Pass me a glass of the Chablis, please...

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  5/24/2015 - 1961Vintage wrote: 90 Points

  Nice crisp burgundian style chard. Well balanced but for the pp, could have used bit more on the nose and finish for me. Still has a long life ahead.

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  12/13/2011 - HRT wrote:

  Steely and sharp. Citrus fruits. This is not your mother's chardonay.

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