I’ll admit it, I’m a big fan of Chardonnay! I think it is one of the worlds best white wine grapes (I might prefer French/German Riesling?) but perhaps for Australia, the best white wine grape.
However for Australia specifically it has not always been so…
Back in the late 90’s early 2000’s when I was getting into wine a bit more seriously I started drinking chardonnay, as at that time, and I believe is still true now, it is Australia’s most widely planted, consumed and exported white variety. However, it was around this time that a lot of Australian chardonnays were not very good, in fact they were pretty bad.
In the late 80s, and early 90s, demand for chardonnay exceeded supply. Most of the fruit, was grown in warmer climates and became exceedingly oak treated leading to strong, simple and heavy, buttery, or sometimes caramel-like, flavor, which most wine drinkers, including myself, did not like, and thus stopped consuming. This in turn, in the early 2000s sparked off the “unwooded” chardonnay trend, which were notable for their blandness, and to my mind, confirmed that most Australian chardonnays were not very good.
That said, obviously during this time there were still some good, if not great chardonnays being produced, from producers such as Giaconda, Penfolds, Leeuwin Estate, Voyager Estate and others but for the most part these were top end chardonnays, mostly outside of my price range, and not worth the gamble.
However, I remember getting a bottle of 1997 Voyager Estate Margaret River Chardonnay as a gift, which I kept in the cupboard in the center of the house for many years, as I initially was not too interested in wine at this stage. A few years later a friend of mine and I shared a bottle of 2003 Voyager Estate Chardonnay. I was blown away by how good it was, intense melon, nectarine, pineapple, with well integrated quality French oak. I went back and opened that 1997 Voyager Estate Chardonnay and it still showed some primary fruit flavors such as pear, and fig, but also had developed creamy, hazelnut, toffee, (Crème Brulee), secondary flavors. This inspired my love for chardonnay which I still drink a lot of to this day.
Thankfully in the last 15 or so years, chardonnay has become one of Australia’s best grape varietals and my love of this grape has never been stronger.
Thus as the warmer seasons are now upon us, what better excuse (surely no excuses are needed) to drink some of my favorite Australian chardonnay. Thus lets start with the Oakridge Local Vineyard Series Guerin Vineyard Chardonnay 2013 and a Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2006.
Oakridge make a lot of great Pinot and Chardonnay and are situated in Victoria’s Yarra Valley which is known for producing great examples of both these great varieties. It is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, dating back to the mid 1800’s.
The Oakridge LVS Guerin Vineyard Chardonnay 2013 is whole bunch pressed, matured on lees and then put into 500 litre French oak puncheons for 11 months. It has a distinctive Oakridge perfume and taste (which is a good thing) with nectarine and pear on the nose which are also reflected on the palette with added citrus and spice and a touch of flint and cashew. It has a slight straw almost with a hint of green colour to it and is still tight but delivers on flavour and mouth feel, with enough complexity to keep for another 5 years.
In summary a great example of Yarra Valley Chardonnay and with the LVS being Oakridge’s mid range wines a reasonable price. – Score: 96/100.
The Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2006 is one that has been sitting in my cellar for about 8 years and thus obviously has more age to it, but it is singing right now.
It has that Margaret River typical grapefruit and citrus bouquet. The taste also showed grapefruit and citrus with a touch of vanilla, and pear. The texture was light, well balanced and creamy, with well integrated acid and a long and buttery finish with a touch of minerality and honeysuckle. – Score: 96/100.
I drank both these wines over two nights and whilst both wines are great examples of the chardonnay which Australia is now producing I felt the Voyager Estate definitely benefited from a little longer bottle age to allow it to slightly mellow, whilst the Oakridge shone on the second night.
Anyway I am getting thirsty thinking about these two great chardys and am already looking over at my wine fridge to see what will be next.
