2015 Dalrymple Vineyards Chardonnay Cave Block

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 92.4 points

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  5/17/2021 - Michael Mackenzie Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Revisiting this after my 4/26/2021 note and comparing it against Escarpment Chardonnay 2016 (tasting note 5/2/2021) for fun to see aging potential. The Escarpment bottle is off form, while the Dalrymple is peerless and effortlessly superior in all respects. Already clear from the colour: light/med gold with the lightest green tinge (Escarpment: a slight brown tinge marking the light/med gold). Above all, great poise, refinement and just what top Tassie Chard is all about. Great fruit/acidity balance, ripeness, tautness and a good long finish. Superb.
  Comparing, Escarpment ABV: 13.7% and acid: 6.4 gr/l; Dalrymple ABV: 13% and acid: 7.2 gr/l.

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  4/26/2021 - Michael Mackenzie Likes this wine: 92 Points

  A vineyard I know well, having worked on developing it with the previous owners. A great site in the Pipers River although quite exposed to the Bass Strait winds! Clearly, in the hands of the Hill Smith family, this will flourish and is already doing so.
  
  Following from the winery's website:
  "Free draining soils and steep slopes results in our Chardonnay vineyard producing low yields of intensely concentrated fruit. A cool to mild spring and early summer, with above average rainfall, gave average yields which were well matched for ripening with a healthy canopy. A mild to warm air system settled over Tasmania just prior to harvest in March and for 3 weeks we experienced only blue skies and mild temperatures, perfect for finishing off the final stages of ripening while also maintaining fine acid that had developed through the cooler months.The fruit was meticulously picked by hand, before whole bunch pressing to a mix of new and older French oak barriques. Winemaking included a parcel of wild fermentation, light lees contact and partial malolactic fermentation.
  
  Harvest: 1st - 20th April 2015
  Total Acidity (G/L): 7.2
  ABV: 13%"
  
  Colour: light/med gold, bright, clear
  Nose: full, fresh, v typical Tassie Chardonnay nose, a bit buttery, ripe.
  Taste: med body, rounded, v ripe, not buttery but full, good varietal, some butterscotch, good acidity. Long finish, dry, v ripe.
  Overall, an excellent wine that has blossomed with age. Compared to the Escarpment Chardonnay (obviously a v different terroir), this is less Burgundian, and v typical for NE Tassie.

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  3/7/2020 - WilliamMP Likes this wine: 91 Points

  92+ for the future. V reductive on opening - big eggy sulphur. Needs air, maybe didn't give it enough. Pipers River is cool and late ripening, E. TAS
  
  N: Reductive edge remains, turned to slate mineral tones and waxy lemon zest. Subtle opulence of lemon curd, baked tart peach.
  
  P: Moderate intensity, nice poise for new world chard. Ripe, but tart lemon, hot Granny Smith apple sauce, underripe rhubarb. Tense texture, preserved lemon savoury touch and puckering med+ acid. Oak evident but not overbearing

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  1/21/2020 - kostaslonis Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Australia Trade Tasting (London): The wine shows flinty character, delicate, nice smooth, lime, pear, tropical fruit, lemon leaves, apple, medium acidity, medium body, long finish. Outstanding quality

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  1/20/2019 - graemeg wrote:

  {screwcap, 13%} Pale yellow. Enticing, youthful nose of fine oak, nuts, cashews, sourdough. They're present on the palate too, but it also has a bewitching texture of oyster shells, a salty/mineral kind of dimension, giving it a long fresh finish. Medium weight only, but wonderfully impressive. Vivid acid. Very impressive seaside chardonnay. Seems like it will age OK, but it's lovely now.

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