I had this blind last week, and it was not the unwooded version. On the nose, youthful, medium+ intensity, apple, pear, white peach, lemon, bread, honeysuckle, funky sea shell, some earth, and some oak detected. On the palate, dry, medium intensity, peach, lemon zest, kiwi, flint, funk, some oak, some minerality, nice body, medium+ acidity the rest of the group thought was out of whack. I liked this wine and reminded me of Bourgogne Blanc.
Category Archives: Western Australia
2007 West Cape Howe Winery Chardonnay Western Australia
2006 Evans & Tate Chardonnay Margaret River
I have liked the past few vintages a lot, and the 06 did not disappoint me. Very nice nose, youthful, medium+ intensity, popcorn, bread, minerality, apple, pear, citrus, some oak, and some earth too. On the palate, dry, broad array of flavors, the citrus really cleans away the popcorn flavors. Med acidity, moderate finish, modestly priced high quality Chardonnay, if you like Chard and haven’t tried this one you are missing out.
2005 Leeuwin Estate Artist Series Riesling
Everybody calls their Chard the best out of Australia, I tend to agree, but the other wines they make warrant some attention, and happen to be reasonably price. Platinum moving to straw in color, medium intensity. On the nose,aroma, of med+ intensity, peach, apricot, lime zest and a lot of it, wet rock minerality, a petrol element. I really liked this nose, to me this is an indication of the direction of Riesling, and it’s all positive. On the palate, dry,med+ intensity, med+ acidity, really bright lime and stone fruit. No oak, a good amount of earthy minerals, good balance, good finish. Well done effort, worth the price tag.
2005 Leeuwin Artist Series Riesling
Golden straw in color and intriguing just in the color. On the palate, white peach, floral, petrol, lime zest, and tropical fruit, papaya and citrus, with a very strong mineral backbone. A brilliant acidity and balance. This wine has a weight unusual for Riesling. The petrol dominates, but there is a tremendous amount of depth of flavors. This is the kind of wine that would floor all of our friends, and we would be shocked, one that this is stelvin closure, but two, how well the minerals integrate with citrus fruit. The finish on this wine is well beyond the price point. This is new world getting it right and showing perhaps a bit more than even old world can offer. It took too many phone calls to get this, but its way better than three quarters of the over priced chardonnay thats out there. Please seek this out. Legenadry Chardonnay producer showing how great Margaret River is at producing world class wines.
2005 Evans & Tate Chardonnay Margaret River
Minerality and stone, smoke, wax, with some green apple and pear, butter and toast on the nose. I really like the integration of earth and oak, and it seems that the fruit has a secondary roll. On the palate, juicy and tart green apple, with toasted oak, some butter, but not overwhelming and it felt like a dozen flavor hit me at once. Really nice acidity for Australia, and nice finish. There are a lot of chards that don’t deliver for the price tag. I would like to taste this blind with a few of them.