Hoddles Creek winemaker Franco D'Anna
PHOTO SUPPLIED
Of all the white wines, chardonnay is my favourite and the white I drink more often than any other. I love its complex flavours of white stone fruits, minerals, melon, nuts, grapefruit and, occasionally, tropical fruit. And when it’s done well, how it can carry racy acidity and still have a lovely texture.
I also love how chardonnay can reflect its terroir as well as giving the winemaker a chance to influence its style.
This winemaker influence – using new oak to enhance length on the palate and malolactic fermentation to boost the wine’s body – got chardonnay into trouble in the 1990s when it gained a reputation for being high in alcohol, so oaky that fruit flavours were overwhelmed and full-bodied and buttery.
Happily, in Australia that trend has slowly been reversed over the past 10 years as winemakers strive to produce a more structured, leaner style of chardonnay with citrus and mineral flavours.
One area that is driving this change is the cool-climate Yarra Valley, where winemakers have gone from a heavier, highly oaked and high-alcohol style to a leaner, more mineral style without the heavy input of oak.
This Saturday, July 23, Toolangi Vineyards is hosting Chardonnay 10, showcasing 15 top Yarra Valley chardonnays from the past few years and benchmarking them against 25 highly regarded chardonnays from around the world. Having tried a couple of the Yarra Valley wines
to be showcased, I can see why local winemakers are keen to put their wines up against some of the best that France, New Zealand and the US have to offer.
What makes the Yarra Valley such a good area for chardonnay? I went straight to the source and asked Young Guns of Wine 2010 nominee Franco D’Anna, whose Hoddles Creek and Wickhams Road chardonnays have been reviewed in these pages recently.
“The Yarra is suited to chardonnay as we have cool nights for acid retention and warm days for sugar accumulation. The Yarra is a large area, so the different sub-regions (Upper and Lower Yarra) also make it suitable to produce different styles of chardonnay,” explained Franco.
Vineyards in the Lower Yarra, which is home to wineries such as Mandala, Toolangi Vineyards, Tarrawarra Estate and Oakridge, pick their grapes early to maintain
freshness and acid balance. These wines are characterised by flint, minerals, low oak and low alcohol. In recent years there have been grapefruit characteristics, too.
In the Upper Yarra, where Franco’s Hoddles Creek winery is based, grapes are often picked a little riper than the lower valley floor as the grapes have a more natural acid balance. This results in wines that are still fine and taut, but with more peach, fig and melon characteristics than wines of the Lower Yarra.
Other chardonnay producers in the Upper Yarra include Gembrook Hill, Seville Estate and Shelmerdine.
Love a Bargain?
Over the Shoulder 2009
(Yarra Valley) $19; 12.5%
3½/5
The entry-level wine from Oakridge, one of the Yarra Valley's top chardonnay producers, this is made from grapes grown in the Upper and Lower Yarra regions and it epitomises the trend towards leaner chardonnay. This has aromas of nectarine and lemon, with hints of cantaloupe and saffron. There is good balance going on here with lemon acid and pure flavours of nectarine and minerals. While it's not overdone, there is quite a bit of complexity for less than $20.
TASTINGS / DRINK THIS
TarraWarra Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2008
(Yarra Valley) $50; 13% a/v
5/5
Food match: Snapper with salmoriglio
Complex aromas of nectarine, fig, melon rind and cashews are on display in this excellent wine. It has great balance, with acid, texture and flavour all in harmony but each playing a clearly identifiable role. Subtle flavours of white stone fruits with mealy, nutty characters precede powerful palate length. This wine evolved every few minutes in the glass as really good wine can do, and will be good drinking for several years to come.
Gembrook Hill Blanc de Blancs 2005
(Yarra Valley) $50; 12.5% a/v
4/5
Food match: Little crab cakes
This blanc de blancs is made from 100 per cent chardonnay and this is one of the more complex Australian examples I have tried. This wine spent four years ageing on yeast lees in the bottle before being disgorged and plugged with its cork. Complex, perfumed aromas including lemon and white peach jump from the glass and are followed by more lemon, peach and buttered toast along with some yeasty notes. It’s as dry as a bone with a lingering finish.
Toolangi Estate Chardonnay 2006
(Yarra Valley) $40; 13.5% a/v
4½/5
Food match: Flounder with a beurre blanc sauce
This wine has had a few years in the bottle to gain complexity and displays seductive aromas of nectarine, melon, nougat and spicy oak with some funky notes as well. It has citrus flavours – lemon and pink grapefruit – along with nectarine. This is really well balanced
with excellent length and a spicy cashew finish. It’s easy to see why the folks at Toolangi are keen to show off
this wine.
Mandala Chardonnay 2008
(Yarra Valley) $25; 12.2% a/v
3½/5
Food match: Prawn and pea risotto
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but this has a pretty label that would catch your eye on a bottleshop shelf, that’s for sure. What’s inside is equally lovely. It smells of melons and citrus with a slight fig richness and light smokey oak. It has a creamy mouthfeel and juicy flavours of white nectarine, grapefruit (a common theme throughout a lot of 2008 Yarra Valley chardonnay) and nougat. This is an ideal chardonnay for the cooler months – and warmer ones, too.