Consistently decent, this was a nice aperitif to start the evening off with. The nose showed pleasant strawberry, apple and lemon peel aromas seasoned with a little mineral and spice. On the palate, fine mousse and a decent balance formed a nice frame for rather fleshy flavours of strawberries, cherries and more citrusy green apples as the wine moved into a finish of warm spice and mineral. With time, a little floral note came out as well. Decently good.
A pretty good new world Chardonnay – I enjoyed this. The nose had a bit too much popcorny oak for my tastes, but this was met by pleasantly sunny accents of yellow-fruited pineapples, peaches and nectarines, with a whiff of cooked cream and a little twist of herb at the sides. The palate echoed those ripe stone fruited tones on the attack, but leaned out nicely on the midpalate to show a surprisingly fine mineral character, with shades of earth and chalk bedded down with gently juicy acidity. This was actually very nicely balanced with a touch of elegance to it. There was just a touch of drying woodiness amidst spice and mineral notes at the finish that I did not quite like. Otherwise, this was a good Chardonnay with a decent capacity to age over the next few years as well.
Grumpy and rather unfriendly at first, this opened up with time to reveal a stylish Chardonnay. On first pour, the nose was a strange mix of sulphur, oak and reductive tones. It took some time, say about 15-20 minutes to open up and show a nicer bouquet of cream, yellow fruit and floral aromas along with a toss of roasted peanut aromas. The palate took some time as well, but when it did open up, it came across as being very well-proportioned. There was good depth and weight to its mix of yellow fruit and red apple flavours, but these were also held in a lovely dry balance, with well-integrated acidity and a nice sense of minerality driving the wine into a long finish. A nice wine, somewhat perched between the old and new worlds. While drinking well young, I think it will benefit from a few years in the cellar yet.
Very good indeed – this is about as solid a young Domaine de Chevalier as I have ever had. It had such a lovely nose, ripe and warm and inviting, with dusty earth and warm herbs wafting out of the glass alongside sappy cassis and dried flower aromas, then some sweet roasted capsicums and just a kiss of fragrant spice and toasty oak. This was complex, perfumed and alluring. The palate was first class too. It shared the same warm depth as the nose, but was at once clean, clear, juicy and just really delicious, with pure, sappy tones of cassis and blueberry that brought to mind fruit pastilles in their gentle sweetness, and then gentle notes of warm wood spice and lovely wafts of tobacco filling the back-palate. In spite of its youth, the velvety finesse of the wine’s tannins and the lovely integration it had made it really easy to drink after short decant. Beautiful stuff. The wine was still clearly structured under all its sappy fruit, with wonderfully bright and juicy acidity and a slight grip of drying tannins showing up right at the finish. While it is delicious now, I would leave it aside for another 8-10 years at least. It probably will age for just about forever though.
NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Cuvée Rosé Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
Consistently decent, this was a nice aperitif to start the evening off with. The nose showed pleasant strawberry, apple and lemon peel aromas seasoned with a little mineral and spice. On the palate, fine mousse and a decent balance formed a nice frame for rather fleshy flavours of strawberries, cherries and more citrusy green apples as the wine moved into a finish of warm spice and mineral. With time, a little floral note came out as well. Decently good.
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2010 Yering Station Chardonnay Village 90 Points
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
A pretty good new world Chardonnay – I enjoyed this. The nose had a bit too much popcorny oak for my tastes, but this was met by pleasantly sunny accents of yellow-fruited pineapples, peaches and nectarines, with a whiff of cooked cream and a little twist of herb at the sides. The palate echoed those ripe stone fruited tones on the attack, but leaned out nicely on the midpalate to show a surprisingly fine mineral character, with shades of earth and chalk bedded down with gently juicy acidity. This was actually very nicely balanced with a touch of elegance to it. There was just a touch of drying woodiness amidst spice and mineral notes at the finish that I did not quite like. Otherwise, this was a good Chardonnay with a decent capacity to age over the next few years as well.
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2011 Chateau Montelena 40th Chardonnay Vintage 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Grumpy and rather unfriendly at first, this opened up with time to reveal a stylish Chardonnay. On first pour, the nose was a strange mix of sulphur, oak and reductive tones. It took some time, say about 15-20 minutes to open up and show a nicer bouquet of cream, yellow fruit and floral aromas along with a toss of roasted peanut aromas. The palate took some time as well, but when it did open up, it came across as being very well-proportioned. There was good depth and weight to its mix of yellow fruit and red apple flavours, but these were also held in a lovely dry balance, with well-integrated acidity and a nice sense of minerality driving the wine into a long finish. A nice wine, somewhat perched between the old and new worlds. While drinking well young, I think it will benefit from a few years in the cellar yet.
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2009 Domaine de Chevalier 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Very good indeed – this is about as solid a young Domaine de Chevalier as I have ever had. It had such a lovely nose, ripe and warm and inviting, with dusty earth and warm herbs wafting out of the glass alongside sappy cassis and dried flower aromas, then some sweet roasted capsicums and just a kiss of fragrant spice and toasty oak. This was complex, perfumed and alluring. The palate was first class too. It shared the same warm depth as the nose, but was at once clean, clear, juicy and just really delicious, with pure, sappy tones of cassis and blueberry that brought to mind fruit pastilles in their gentle sweetness, and then gentle notes of warm wood spice and lovely wafts of tobacco filling the back-palate. In spite of its youth, the velvety finesse of the wine’s tannins and the lovely integration it had made it really easy to drink after short decant. Beautiful stuff. The wine was still clearly structured under all its sappy fruit, with wonderfully bright and juicy acidity and a slight grip of drying tannins showing up right at the finish. While it is delicious now, I would leave it aside for another 8-10 years at least. It probably will age for just about forever though.
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