Chardonnay - Burgundy or bust?
Reading the Decanter recently I found the following article, web address given below:
http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/514019/chardonnay-choose-australia-decanter-readers-urged
where lots of positive noises were being made about how good Australian Chardonnays were becoming. Unfortunately, the novelty of oak in the New World led to a real over-use for much of the 1990's, and some of the 2000's. The chances are pretty high that you will have tasted a really oaky, buttery, full-bodied, alcoholic Australian Chardonnay and have chalked it up to experience, deciding that those times of drinking that variety from that country were over.
Perhaps it is time to reconsider. It has been frequently commented in the wine industry that the top New World Chardonnay estates had really toned down their use of new oak, frequently shortening the amount of time the wine ages in barrel and also using old wood which imparts less flavour. So now its your turn, to experiment a little and give some a go - at Martin-Bird Wines, we have a small amount left of the Woodlands Chardonnay from Margaret River, the superb Clonale Chardonnay from Kooyong in the closest area to Burgundy as exists in Australia the Mornington Peninsula, as well as a brilliant South African example from Tokara in the highly-renowned region of Walker Bay.
For those wanting to stick to the classics, then Patrick Javillier's Bourgogne Blanc Cuvee des Forgets 2007 is superb, as is Bernard Defaix's Chablis premier cru, Les Vaillons. There is also the Saint Veran from Domaine Pacquet to have a crack at! Decisions, decisions!
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