pyrmont wharf, sydney
Tasted Thursday, October 3, 2013 by chatters with 718 views
Second year of this fantastic tasting - thanks Yuko! This year, though, the Americans are here - by which, of course, I mean the United States - some would argue that the Americas (in the form of Chile and Argentina) had been here right from the start but let's not quibble about semantics. This is a very good tasting but does need to be taken with a small pinch of salt. A lot of the producers here are not seen on these shores and, because the vast majority of producers we do see are fairly large, corporate, mass producers, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that these wines here are truly representative of the nation in question from a boutique winery perspective which of course, in some cases, they are simply not. This year the wines were arranged by country rather than by varietal consequently there was a lot of dancing from table to table. Of course, as per last year, as the evening goes on the wines do run out so I did not manage to get to taste everything I wanted to but this is a small price to pay. My plan of attack on this occasion was to do chardonnay, pinot noir, 85%+ Cabernet sauvignon (which is the rule for these countries to declare the wine as straight Cab Sav) and Bordeaux blends with a Cab Sav dominance. After that I just tried whatever other wines interested me - in this case a couple of whites and a few other reds.
The usual qualifier applies - this was very much an elbows at dawn tasting and there were not may flat surfaces to take notes on consequently my notes are restricted to the aromas - most dominant first - and a short note on mouthfeel where possible
Australia is a country mile ahead of everything eles here, the Saffa Hamilton Russell was very good though and, with only four US wines present, it is hard to make a completely fair comment on the state of the States...historically they've been a bit blowsy and overblown (which I don't have a problem with) but I hear rumours of austerity...
I just wanted to try the Yalumba as I've never had it and the Clonakilla seemed to be a good baseline based on my previous tastings of it.
Time was pressing so I had to pass up on everything else unfortunately...
The usual mixed bag. I thought that the US stuff was probably the best of the bunch but there is so much variability of wine making technique, growing region, viticultural practice and clone selection (to name just a few aspects) that it is very hard to pull a common thread from any of these wines. Also, I was remiss in my kiwi tasting - just couldn't get to them!
last year, for me, the Saffas stood up tall….this year less so with the honours shared between the US and Australia with some truly lovely wines.
There was not much left at this stage of the proceedings but grabbed what I could...I tried to stick to those that were at least majority Cabernet Sauvignon to get some parity with the above bracket but there are a smattering of others here.
Whilst I was wandering around I tried a few things that seemed to appeal - no specific plan of attack...couple of merlots, cab francs, zins, the only tannat, other bits and pieces
Lovely tasting, really, really good...I would have happily spent the whole night here but had dinner plans afterwards. Too many high points to mention. Biggest disappointment was the poor showing of the Saffa Cab and Cab blends.
I'd rank this as one of my favourite tastings - despite all of the elbows, tarty birds with too much perfume, middle aged fat blokes who insist in standing right next to the tables with the wine, general shouty atmosphere and inaccuracy with spit buckets as the evening progresses. Roll on next year!
2011 Vasse Felix Chardonnay Heytesbury
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
lemon, citrus butter, oak spice. Bitter and tart. Disjointed at the mo' but history teaches me that this will turn out alright
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2012 Bodegas Diamandes Chardonnay Diamandes de Uco
Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco
Sage/thyme, citrus tang, warmth okay
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2012 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay
South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
lemon, stone fruit spice, juicy palate, complex, glorious but a puppy
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2012 Cape Mentelle Chardonnay
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
bacon fat, over cheese and stone fruit, quite tart on the palate at the mo'.
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2012 Bouchard Finlayson Chardonnay Crocodile's Lair (Kaaimansgat)
South Africa, Cape South Coast, Overberg
Stone fruit, toast, little bitter with plentiful tannic grip. Hmm.
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2012 Monteviejo Chardonnay Lindaflor
Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco
spice, citrus, cream, butter…it's inoffensive enough but could be from anywhere and a touch of bitterness spoils things at the back of the palate...
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2011 Bodega Atamisque Chardonnay Catalpa
Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco
muted stone fruit, cedar, on the palate the stone fruit proves to be a little flabby.
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2011 Lake's Folly Chardonnay
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Muted citrus over some fruit, slight oak tightness…needs time.
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2011 Paul Cluver Chardonnay
South Africa, Cape South Coast, Elgin
toasted oak, butter, stone fruit. Bitter. Overblown
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2011 Rustenberg Chardonnay Five Soldiers
South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch
peach, slight cream. Tart and bitter on the palate.
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2011 Clos du Val Chardonnay Single Vineyard Lone Cypress Ranch
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
peach, cream, butterscotch, tongue coating…I know I shouldn't but I do like this.
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2011 Giaconda Chardonnay Estate Vineyard
Australia, Victoria, North East, Beechworth
toast, butter, youth, stone fruit, spice. Medium plus phenolic grip. Long, out of whack but lovely. Needs time.
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2010 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
oak, stone fruit, over citrus, cream, citric tang dominates the palate underpinned by some spicy notes
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2010 Amayna (Viña Garces Silva) Chardonnay Flawed
Chile, San Antonio Valley, Leyda Valley
funky, meaty, FLAW
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2010 De Martino Chardonnay Quebrada Seca
Chile, Limarí Valley
muted stone fruit, bit funky and then flabby and forgettable.
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2010 Laguna Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
cream and butter over lemon and stone fruit
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2010 Hyde De Villaine Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
ripe stone fruit, oak, on the palate it's a bit tough perhaps too much oak?
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2009 Mulderbosch Chardonnay Barrel Fermented
South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch
Farty, and fat on nose but citrus and oak on palate. Quite round mouth feel. Hmm.
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