REGION:
Limestone Coast, 2009
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING:
This wine is made from a blend of the oldest chardonnay vines in the Limestone Coast as well as some of the coolest . The old vines sit on the ancient sandy soils of Padthaway and the coolest vines are located a stone's throw from the southern ocean at Cape Jaffa. Together they lend elegance and texture to this wine.
Low crops meant early harvest at perfect natural acidity. Following gentle pressing the juice was cold settled and racked to cooled fermentation tanks and inoculated with
selected yeasts. Once the fermentation had started it was transferred to predominantly French small oak barrels. A small parcel was allowed to ferment using the natural yeast of the vineyard and our 100 year old winery. Regular battonage has added texture to the wine. Rigorous barrel selection and minimal handling during blending and stabilisation have
resulted in a delicious example of Australian Chardonnay.
WINEMAKERS' NOTES:
Bright fresh peach and citrus flavours abound on the nose, reinforced by a light infusion of French oak. Fresh tropical fruit complete a lovely mouth filling texture and the palate promises moreish flavours and length with great potential to age for the next 3 years.
A great example of modern Australian Chardonnay from the best region for this variety in South Australia.
TECHNICAL:
Varieties: Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13.5% alc/vol
Total Acidity: <6.0 gms/l
Residual Sugar: 2.0 gms/l
James Halliday Aust. Wine Companion 2012 Edition - 89 Points 4 Stars
Winewise - July 2011
“This is a funky, savoury wine in a bigger style beginning with its rich, barrel-ferment aromas. The palate has loads of flavour kept in reasonable balance by some fresh acidity and creamy texture. Excellent value.”
The Age - Ralph Kyte-Powell - 12.07.11 - 4 Stars
“In the quest for more distinctive wines Angove’s “Vineyard Select” range strays from the winery’s Riverland base. From South Australia’s Limestone Coast, this chardonnay has appealing melon and citrus fruit dressed in notable toasty barrel input. It tastes pleasantly fresh and clean, light and dry.”
Daily Telegraph - Tony Love - 12.07.11 - 3 Stars also appeared in the Adelaide Advertiser
“Here’s a traditional Riverland family company branching out to cooler regions and more progressive wine styles with this chardonnay at a modest price, with all the rediscovered mod cons of barrel fermentation and stirring the wine solids to achieve more complexities in the wine. It has a gentle, breezy white linen note, perfumed peach fragrances, and fruit to follow, with barrel influenced texture.”
Canberra Times - 08.06.11 - 2 Stars
“Sourced from vineyards at Padthaway and Cape Jaffa, it offers rich-to-fat melon and peach flavours with an obvious layer of oak….will appeal to the many people who enjoy full on, plump chardonnays.”
West Australian - 19.05.11 - 91/100
“Cool-climate source of fruit from right down on the Southern Ocean has played a pivotal role in creating this tightly framed and precise chardonnay. Has some wild yeast influence and further lees from some barrel stirring. Textural and rich. A very good wine for this price.”
Western Suburbs Weekly - 10.05.11 - 17.4 Points
“This wine is from South Australia’s south-east, and some components have had wild yeast and barrel fermentations, and then battonage to add creamy and textural complexity and appealing butterscotch to the stone fruit flavours. This is mellow, round and complete, and is ready for drinking right now.”
Fine Wine Club - Barry Weinman - Edition 4 May 2011 - 17.2 Points
“Creamy and very classy nose with plenty of stonefruit. There is white fleshed peach and a touch of nectarine. The oak grip is a touch firm on the palate, but this quickly settled in the glass. This is a bigger, richer style that is quite complete. Great value drinking over the next year of two.”
Quaff 2011 - Peter Forrestal
The Best Wines in Australia Under $15 - Good
'Here is a complex, worked chardonnay with attractive cedary oak, lees and butterscotch flavours. Again, it’s a style that many will find enormously attractive.'
Wine 100 - July 2010 - 91 Points
'Impressive, complex Chardonnay at a very attractive price, there's well-handled complexity, pear and grapefruit and flinty edges. The palate's nicely tapered and oak adds a toasty stripe.'
West Australian - Ray Jordan - 17.06.10 - 87/100
'Creamy and slightly buttery nose showing some nice lemon scents. Has a little almond and hazelnut character. Crisp, clean palate with a long acid lift on the finish. Comes from Mount Benson. Consistent cool-climate fruit. Has plenty of rich texture and flavour intensity.'
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2010 - 89 Points 4 Stars
“Fresh and lively, with some of the grapefruit typical of Padthaway, along with nectarine; nice balance and mouthfeel.”
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
Winestate Limestone Coast - November / December 2008 3.5 Stars
'This nose shows great nutty complexity for a young wine. Sweet and round in the mouth, with powerful peaches and cream flavours.'
Winestate Annual Edition 2009 - Best Wines of 2008 4 Stars
'Nose has plenty to offer - cut hay, butterscotch and melons. Palate delivers attractive varietal fruits of citrus and peach, well matched by subtle oak.'
Money Magazine - 10 Best Value Whites - Peter Forrestal - Jan 2009
'This large family-owned, Riverland-based company has consistently produced some of Australia’s best-value wines in the past three years. Its policy of sourcing fruit from afar is working well, as this Limestone Coast chardonnay shows: fine, delicate yet tight and complex with ripe peachy, melony flavours, creamy texture and a fresh, lively finish.'
Quaff 2009 - The Best Wines in Australia Under $15 - Peter Forrestal
Rated 'Bloody Good'
TOP 20 QUAFFING WINES OF 2009
Shortlist : White Wine of the Year Award
'This is sourced from the southern Limestone Coast and has been treated with more care and thought than you'd normally find in a wine at this price. Much of it finished fermentation in French barriques and was lees stirred during maturation, while a small portion was made using natural yeast. It's fine, delicate and complex with peachy, melony flavours, creamy texture and a tight structure. Classy.'
Wine Spectator Magazine USA - November 2008 - 90 Point Review
"Refined, elegant and vibrant. A lively mouthful of lime-accented apple and pear fruit, weaving delicate shades of cream and toast into the finish."
Restaurant Wine Magazine - June 2008 - 4.5 Stars
"Screw cap. Supple and full bodied, this is a lightly toasty Chardonnay with pear, roasted nut, spicy oak, baked bread and pineapple aromas/flavors. Long finish. Great value."