Chardonnay comes in many styles, from simple fruity, unoaked wines, through flinty, dry ones with understated intensity and complexity, to rich wines with underlying oak and nuttiness, the best of which are beautifully balanced. This tasting turned up all three styles.
BEST VALUE
$22
Four stars (out of five)
Good value
At three years old this is nicely mellowed, lovely fruit (stonefruit and citrus) harmonising with creamy, toasty oak, nicely structured and balanced with a long finish.
$19
Three stars
Average value
A zesty, mouthfilling wine with luscious stonefruit and lively mineral undertones backed by hints of nuts, and a bright, crisp finish.
$28
Four stars
Average value
With oodles of stonefruit and grapefruit, hints of nuts and underlying toasty oak, this stylish wine is complex, intense and well balanced with a long finish.
$32
Four stars
Average value
A restrained chardonnay, hinting of stonefruit and citrus with a crisp, flinty backbone, this is taut, racy and well structured, with a long aftertaste.
$40
Five stars
Good value
Fragrant, floral and spicy with hints of smoky, classy oak, delicious suggestions of citrus and grapefruit with underlying mineral, nuts and caramel, this wine is rich yet dry and restrained, concentrated and well structured, superbly balanced and harmonious.
$60
Four and a half stars
Below average value
A youthful wine, restrained but promising much, it is dry, taut and flinty, with a classy structure, underlying oak and a crisp, lipsmacking finish. Two or five years bottle age will allow it to develop its potential.
ANOTHER GLASS
Sacred Hill Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2010
$21 but often on special
Two and-a-half stars
Below average value
Simple and slightly confected with hints of stewed apple and cream and a fresh finish.
John Forrest Collection Wairau Chardonnay 2006
$50
Four stars
Below average value
A mature five-year-old wine, this is fragrant and developed, mellowed and textural with integrated fruit and oak, a taut minerally backbone and a hint of toasty oak on the finish.
John Forrest Collection Waitaki Chardonnay 2008
$50
Four stars
Below average value
This three-year-old wine is mature and mouthfilling with hints of tinned peas, nuts and caramel, a mellowed sweetness but and a long aftertaste. Drinking well now.
Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations. charmian.smith@odt.co.nz
Two stars - simple, clean, enjoyable wine; three stars - good wine with varietal characteristics; four stars - very good wine with some outstanding characteristics; five stars - outstanding wine with balance and harmony that leaves you with a sense of wonder.
