Beechworth 13.5% Screwcap $54 Source: Retail
Did you know Rick Kinzbrunner believes aging his wines in his own underground caves adds to their “terroir aspect”?
“We must realise a barrel is slightly porous and some of this magic underground mineral character seems to be transferring into the wines in a very subtle manner.”
Well, if you think wild yeast can play a role in terroir then why not underground caves? I find the cave argument more compelling as I have some questions as to which microbes are introduced by what comes into a winery and vineyard each year (ie not “native” but still “wild”).
I really like Mr Kinzbrunner using the term “terroir aspect”. As much as he considers terroir to be important, it is still just an aspect, not the whole package. That could send me off on another long post dealing with the issue, but it’s a Sunday..
Heavily worked white peach, bread, oatmeal, hazelnuts and grapefruit. Highly textural and layered style with some good length to play with on a slightly tightened finish, tangy with citrus. Toasty Oak is in balance but provides a lot in terms of mouth feel, wood spice/ginger, cedar and a bare hint of butterscotch. Edges of pineapple and its sweetness are tempered by haunting smokey overtones and an overall savoury profile.
Two other things intersected my tasting and subsequent drinking of this wine. Huon Hooke and Kinzbrunner were at some Chardonnay tasting or other (Hooke wrote it up in “Good Living”), where they decided that they preferred the Giaconda style to the Leeuwin Art Series, as the latter was a bit sterile and lacked character (or something like that, I lost the paper). Anyway, I thought both were harsh on the LEAS and I thought it was bit silly to make that statement given that one of them makes the Giaconda…
Then, on the StarForum by WineStar, I noticed a poll: Giaconda or Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay
Small sample size, may not even be enough to achieve significance, but I was still interested to see Giaconda lagging behind.
I’ll take Giaconda myself, but it’s a stylistic and aesthetic choice, nothing more.
This is not a Giaconda wine, mind you. It’s a wine made from Estate fruit by Rick Kinzbrunner exclusively for Vintage Cellars, so you won’t find it available on the site below. If the standard Giaconda Chardonnay is a little out of your budget, this offers a nice hit of a similar style for a smaller price.
Winery Website- http://www.giaconda.com.au/
Sundays are a perfect time for a philosophical discussion/rant. Don't hold back Jeremy.
I do love these worked styles of chardonnay. The austere styles that are (perhaps/maybe?) all in vogue have their place but so do the fuller layered styles. Yarra Yering, Lakes Folly, Giaconda are really such good chardonnays. Diversity is hell of a good thing.
Stylistic heterogeneity will be my catch cry of the day I think.
Dave
If Kinzbrunner can't support his own style of Chardonnay over LEAS, then he'd have some real problems! In his defence, I presume that he makes the kind of Chardonnay that he'd want to drink. And I presume that his site has something to do with the style of Chardonnay he pursues too.
For my part, I'm less of a fan of LEAS these days. I don't like the less is less style of Chardonnay either, and some mild "work" on the fruit certainly has its place.
MichaelC
I fully concur Dave. Had a very good 08 De Bortoli Chardonnay the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it, just in a different way.
Stylistic heterogeneity should be my catch cry every day but sometimes I disagree with someone and actually think I'm correct
cheers
j
Fair point re Kinzbrunner Michael. I wish I still had that paper though, it was a rather odd article and I haven't been able to capture the exact words or nature here. Anyway, I love his wines and suspect they are an excellent interpretation of his "patch of soil".
As far as less is less, I'm beginning to taste a few too many who aim for this and miss. A 2009 Fifth Leg Chardonnay made by ex-Penfolds white wine maker Oliver Crawford made me cringe. It tasted as insipid as one might expect from 11.5% unoaked $10-15 Chards. I'd prefer a Sav Blanc!
cheers
j
Mr Crawford seems to get under your skin a a bit Jeremy! What are doing drinking that sort of rubbish in any case? Give yourself 10 in the bin and go away and have a think about it.
I don't mind some of Mr Crawford's work with the Bin 51. He aimed for a slightly different style of Eden Valley Riesling with less of the overt lime and more of the rose petal characters and, I think, largely achieved it. Not sure of his take on Chardonnay though … Perhaps I'm with you there.
MichaelC
I was exploring ugliness so I could further appreciate beauty Michael
I do quite like the Devil's Lair Chardonnay…