Five chardonnays for winter
Stick another log on the fire and break out the cheeseboard - here’s five delicious chardys perfect for your cold weather sipping.
Check out: Chardonnay Lineup 42.0
Chardonnay 2021 – Black Market Deal #49241
Nutty, creamy, tropical, complex. Citrus and cream with parmesan nuance and punchy, penetrating acidity. This is right smack dab in the middle of the Mediterranean garden; lemons, limes, grapefruits overfloweth. The warm days have allowed the fruit to develop nicely, pushing them into a spectrum of rich ripeness. The palate weight is varietally perfect, too - smooth and shapely in the mouth. A bit of sea breeze (hey, there's the Mediterranean chiming in again) accents the finish. This is an awful lot of wine for sixteen-bucks. Yum.
Palliser Estate White Label Chardonnay 2021
Savoury, rich premium Martinborough chardonnay, Delightfully full bodied with power and depth. This is a wine that strikes the balance of rich and creamy with cheesy and savoury perfectly - it walks a fine line, perfectly poised with a foot in each camp. There's a tight, ripping acid line that runs the centre of the palate, give freshness and zeal to what is quite a rich flavour profile, all told. This is an excellent wine befitting of the producers reputation for producing high quality chardy.
Byron & Harold Gravity Black Chardonnay 2023
A little rich and a little creamy. A powerful citrus core framed by riper tropical nuance. This is the Margaret River chardy we've been hangin' out for. The wine is lead by a fleshy lemon and lemon drop confectionary citrus drive. There is genuine power and presence in that bright acid core. Some tropical notes of ripe melon and charred pineapple play on the edges, with desiccated coconut and vanilla offering further complexity. Fresh cream and star anise aromatics reveal themselves late in the piece once the wine has had a moment to open up a little. The finish persists longer than you think it will, exciting and surprising long after you've set the glass down. Drinking brilliantly now, but don't be afraid to set a few down for up to a decade - you'll be handsomely rewarded for your patience.
Domaine Yvon & Laurent Vocoret Chablis AOC 2022
Chablis with all the trimmings; lemon pith, ripe lemon flesh, creamy, cheesy, savoury nuance, and deep mineral complexity. It's no wonder the wine world looks to Chablis for chardonnay greatness. There is so much to discover here – a wine brimming with intricacies and curiosities. Slatey mineral drive underpins the acid from start to finish. Rich, shapely fruit gives the wine palate weight and breadth, and the scintillating acid sets the mouth alight. A brilliant wine from a relatively unsung hero of the region.
Rochford Dans les Bois Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2018
Classically Yarra chardy with 95 Halliday -a study in cool climate excellence. While they produce an array of wines, at their heart Rochford are Burgundian varietal masters - they do single vineyard chardonnay and pinot that delights reviewers and punters vintage after vintage. Grapefruit and green apple with zippy citrus acidity throughout. Acid is peppy and driving, its almost rushes up the palate with a bit of savoury richness tumbling in its wake. A bit of salinity on the periphery makes for a complete, complex wine. This is elite Yarra Valley chardonnay from an iconic producer.
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