Chardonnay is coming back into fashion after a few years in the doldrums when people rushed to drink pinot gris.
Simple chardonnay can be a pleasant drink, but really good chardonnay with a couple of years bottle age can give great pleasure as well as lots to think or talk about if you are so inclined.
Hunters Marlborough Chardonnay 2008
($19.50)
Always a reliable brand, this has lovely hints of zesty citrus, tropical and stone fruit with suggestions of freshly baked biscuits and toasty nuts, with a well balanced dry finish.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Good value
(about $20, but often discounted)
Hints of nectarine and tropical fruit with a suggestion of biscotti and toffee and a crisp finish.
- Two stars (out of five)
- Average value
www.pernod-ricard-nz.com/saints.php
(about $19)
A wine for those who like an oaky chardonnay with hints of oatmeal, peaches and cream with a lift of citrus at the end.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Average value
(about $23)
At three years old, this has mellowed into an attractive, mouthfilling, slightly funky wine with hints of citrus and nuts in the background, nicely melded oak and fruit and a lively, long aftertaste.
Drinking nicely now but probably not for long term cellaring.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Good value
(about $25)
A stylish taut young wine with subtle hints of nuts, toasty oak and a surprising depth of fruit suggesting citrus, but wine is more about restraint, finesse, structure and texture than lush or overt fruit flavours.
It will develop with bottle age over two or three years. I tasted it on subsequent days and it just got better and better.
- Five stars (out of five)
- Good value
(about $36)
Pegasus Bay's wines are always a little different and this wine takes chardonnay to a new level in this country.
This is funky with hints of herbs, stonefruit and compost, layers of aroma, flavour, complexity and richness, a textural wine that pushes the limits and a delicious aftertaste that lingers for ages.
- Five stars (out of five)
- Good value
ANOTHER GLASS
Craggy Range Les Beaux Cailloux Gimblett Gravels 2007
(about $60)
A big wine in a heavy bottle with a heavy price, this is showy with oodles of smoky oak, toasty nuts, toffee, zesty aromas and richness with hints of grapefruit and biscotti, complex and textural with a very long aftertaste that shows its class.
However, it is still slightly gawky - give another year or so before impressing your friends with it.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Below average value
Selaks Winemakers Favourite Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2008
(about $21, but may be discounted)
Hints of toasted cashews and toffee, lots of oak and a suggestion of pineapple and tropical fruit, and a creamy finish. Something for those who like oaky wines.
- Two stars (out of five)
- Average value
• 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.
- Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations.
