These two Chardonnays make an interesting pair. The 2010 Billaud-Simon Chablis is an excellent example of its type, combining pristine green apple and lemon citrus imbued fruit with a touch of stony minerality. Although it is from the lower rungs of the Chablis appellation ladder, it possesses good fruit intensity, and delivers plenty of pleasure for current drinking. It is an expression of the Chardonnay grape that owes itself to the cool northerly location and the Kimmeridgean clay of Chablis, a style that cannot be readily replicated.
Williams Crossing Chardonnay, made by Curly Flat in the cool Macedon Ranges, is an Australian Chardonnay that goes against the stylistic stereotype of buttery oak monsters. One cannot discern any oak, either on the nose or on the palate. There is definite 'cool' quality to the fruit profile, reflected in green apples and white stonefruit. Although there is weight to the palate, it is carried by cleansing acidity. All in all, it is quite 'Chablis like' in character.
While one can draw comparisons between the Australian wine and the Chablis, there are a couple of things that mark them apart. The most distinguishing character of the Williams Crossing Chardonnay is its great fruit purity. The Chablis, by contrast, bears a mark of where it comes from; it smells and tastes like Chablis, not like a well made unoaked (or lightly oaked) cool climate Chardonnay.
Both are good wines, and can be enjoyed in similar contexts. Were it a competition (which this is most certainly not), the Chablis might win, but it would be a split points decision.
2010 CHABLIS
Producer: Domaine Billaud-Simon
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Region: Burgundy, France
ABV: 12.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $32.99
Date tasted: 31 March 2012
Tasting Note:
Lemon yellow with green hints. Bright nose of green apples, lemon citrus and gunflint. Dry, medium bodied, quite weighty in texture, lively mix of Granny Smith apple and citrus fruit, wet stones. Fine acidity carries the finish. It is a textbook example of AC Chablis, lacking the depth and tension of a Premier Cru, but with a lovely tactile quality.
Score: 16/20
2010 WILLIAM’S CROSSING CHARDONNAY
Producer: Curly Flat
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Region: Macedon Ranges, Victoria
ABV: 13.3%
Closure: Screw cap
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $30.00
Date tasted: 7 April 2012
Tasting Note:
Bright lemon yellow. Clean and pure nose of green apples, nectarines and white peaches; quite perfumed. No discernible oak. Dry, medium bodied, round in texture, but by not fat or heavy. The palate possesses great fruit purity and good intensity, but perhaps lacks a little of complexity. One can see the ambition behind this wine, and it almost carries it off.
Score: 15.5/20
Williams Crossing Chardonnay, made by Curly Flat in the cool Macedon Ranges, is an Australian Chardonnay that goes against the stylistic stereotype of buttery oak monsters. One cannot discern any oak, either on the nose or on the palate. There is definite 'cool' quality to the fruit profile, reflected in green apples and white stonefruit. Although there is weight to the palate, it is carried by cleansing acidity. All in all, it is quite 'Chablis like' in character.
While one can draw comparisons between the Australian wine and the Chablis, there are a couple of things that mark them apart. The most distinguishing character of the Williams Crossing Chardonnay is its great fruit purity. The Chablis, by contrast, bears a mark of where it comes from; it smells and tastes like Chablis, not like a well made unoaked (or lightly oaked) cool climate Chardonnay.
Both are good wines, and can be enjoyed in similar contexts. Were it a competition (which this is most certainly not), the Chablis might win, but it would be a split points decision.
2010 CHABLIS Producer: Domaine Billaud-Simon
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Region: Burgundy, France
ABV: 12.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $32.99
Date tasted: 31 March 2012
Tasting Note:
Lemon yellow with green hints. Bright nose of green apples, lemon citrus and gunflint. Dry, medium bodied, quite weighty in texture, lively mix of Granny Smith apple and citrus fruit, wet stones. Fine acidity carries the finish. It is a textbook example of AC Chablis, lacking the depth and tension of a Premier Cru, but with a lovely tactile quality.
Score: 16/20
2010 WILLIAM’S CROSSING CHARDONNAY Producer: Curly Flat
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Region: Macedon Ranges, Victoria
ABV: 13.3%
Closure: Screw cap
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $30.00
Date tasted: 7 April 2012
Tasting Note:
Bright lemon yellow. Clean and pure nose of green apples, nectarines and white peaches; quite perfumed. No discernible oak. Dry, medium bodied, round in texture, but by not fat or heavy. The palate possesses great fruit purity and good intensity, but perhaps lacks a little of complexity. One can see the ambition behind this wine, and it almost carries it off.
Score: 15.5/20
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