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For Your Pleasure
"For your pleasure
In our present state
Part false part true
Like anything
We present ourselvesThe words we use tumble
All over your shoulder
Gravel hard and looseThere all night lying
With your dark horse hiding
Abhorring such extremes" - Bryan FerryCategories
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Category Archives: Chardonnay
2011 McHenry Hohnen Burnside Chardonnay
There’s been a lot of praise for these 2011 McHenry Hohnen Chardonnays so I thought I’d give one a test drive. The Burnside vineyard, planted in the early 1980s, was the only one I could get my hands on. Pretty darn … Continue reading
2012 Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay
All of these 2012 Giant Steps Chardonnays are far from sterile or safe. There’s ample character, significant lees work and lots of spice in every one of them. The Sexton this year seems to be a bit more cerebral than … Continue reading
2012 Giant Steps Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay
I’m a sucker for this vineyard. Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to visit it next month when I’m in the Yarra. Apparently it has a distinctly cooler microclimate than its neighbours due to its location in a valley. It certainly translates … Continue reading
2012 Giant Steps Arthurs Creek Vineyard Chardonnay
Tasted the three 2012 Giant Steps single vineyard Chardonnays blind with the help of a generous friend, mostly because I wanted to see if I could pick the sites. Tarraford and Arthurs Creek were easy. The Sexton was probably as … Continue reading
2012 Salo Yarra Valley Chardonnay
The Salo Yarra Valley Chardonnay generally leaps to the front of the tasting bench when I get a hold of it each year. The 2012 comes from the same Gladysdale vineyard in the Upper Yarra Valley once again. 10% is … Continue reading
2011 Ridgemill Estate Chardonnay
I was going to wait until I’d looked at this on the second day before I reviewed it but hey, I’ve tasted it three times; once on release, once in a blind bracket of Chardonnays at a Sommeliers Australia tasting … Continue reading
2012 Innocent Bystander Yarra Valley Chardonnay
The Yarra Valley has a happy knack of turning out some delicious Chardonnay at around the twenty-dollar mark. Here’s another example. Hand picked, pressed to large format French oak, fermented on 100% juice solids using 80% ambient yeasts with occasional stirring. … Continue reading
2011 Mea Culpa Chardonnay
I’d suggest that the Mea Culpa wines are going to be of significant historical importance for the boutique Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander winery. I won’t use the term ‘game changer’ as I’ve read that about twelvety billion times over the last … Continue reading
2011 Kooyong Estate Chardonnay
While still a line and length Chardonnay I’m quite surprised by how much flavour the 2011 Kooyong Estate Chardonnay packs. I reckon a wide demographic of Chardonnay fiends will gain pleasure from this. It smells of preserved lemons, white peach, … Continue reading
2012 De Bortoli Windy Peak Yarra Valley Chardonnay
An interesting follow-up to the 2011 release which offered excellent value and was a pretty good wine regardless of price. This is softer, with riper flavours and less focus. There’s also a fair amount of solidsy, funky stink – which … Continue reading