Terroir Australis
The Age
Saturday July 21, 2007
You might have heard winemakers claim they are non-interventionists and that their wine is made in the vineyard. Certainly without great fruit from well-tended vineyards, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to make great wine. That's a no-brainer really. But there's much that happens in the winery - a veritable chemical lab. And with certain varieties, a winemaker's influence is more obvious. Take chardonnay, a great, noble variety that morphs better than most to reflect the winemaker's personality or, at the very least, his or her vinous philosophy.
Chardonnay can be complex and rewarding. Here are some things a winemaker can consider: to use only the first pressing; to ferment in stainless steel or barrel; to let the wine undergo full or partial malolactic fermentation (malo) or none at all; to keep it on lees; to stir or not to stir; and to store in oak or not - but for how long? Should the barrels - usually French - be from one cooper or several, fine or medium-toasted and what percentage of new to old? Add to that mix blending options with different clones and deciding whether it is worthy of being a single-vineyard wine.Phew. That's a fair bit of chemistry to consider. There's more in that equation but that will do. Some winemakers forfeit malo to allow the fruit's acidity to be maintained. In theory, malo converts the harsher malic acid in to softer lactic acid and the wine takes on more complex buttery, butterscotch, caramel or creamy characters but apart from being a flavour enhancer, malo can add extra mouthfeel, an important element in chardonnay. However, more and more winemakers are heading towards partial malo or none. Some wines I've tasted recently that forgo malo are pristine, focused and complex wines with plenty of palate weight.Obviously this is not new. Mount Mary Vineyard in the Yarra Valley has long been making a chardonnay without malo and there's nothing harsh about that wine. (I'll be looking at this in more detail after an August tasting hosted by Stonier Wines comparing malo and non-malo wines.)And oak has a huge influence on the wine. It can be overwhelming (we've all had chardonnays like that) but again, in recent years, the oak regime of many fine producers has been reined in and thus it's not a dominating flavour - or worse, masking a wine fault. Some have fine-tuned their oak influence so that it highlights the purity of fruit and brings all the elements of the wine in to a harmonious whole. These days, winemakers calling themselves minimalists or non-interventionists are trying to reveal what the vineyard is all about - terroir, essentially. When you discover such producers, remember their names. Here are a few to try for starters: Voyager Estate, Cullen, Oakridge, Yering Station, Main Ridge Estate, Moorooduc Estate, 10 X Tractor and Bindi. -- JANE FAULKNERYALUMBA FDW [7c] 2005 CHARDONNAY ADELAIDE HILLS $24A wine with possibly the silliest name: FDW stands for fine dry white and 7c apparently relates to a special batch of fruit. Just as well it's such a mighty fine drop. Superb crisp notes, lemony and zesty, with some nuttiness and leesy notes but just a smidgen to give some palate weight and extra complexity rather than dominating, with a fresh, clean finish and terrific balance. Excellent wine by any name.TARRAWARRA ESTATE TIN COWS CHARDONNAY 2005 $22 Tin Cows is TarraWarra's second label - there's hardly any malo so it's not too rich, there's barely 10 per cent new oak and that keeps costs down and yet this smells and tastes like a wine that's had more done to it, in a good way. With lovely fruit - an amalgam of spiced pears and citrus - with hazelnuts too, met with a crisp palate and good length. A delicious wine at a beaut price and you'll think you're drinking something more expensive.SHAW AND SMITH M3 VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2006 $38The M3 vineyard in the Adelaide Hills has proved itself as there's always a vibrancy of fruit and the winemaking influences show restraint, resulting in a wine of great complexity and texture. It starts with figs, melon and nectarine matched to subtle oak and leesy notes that follow through on the palate, met with some minerality and a citrus freshness to finish. Great length too.
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