2010 CURLY FLAT CHARDONNAY - COOL FOR CATS

Australian Chardonnay has never been in a healthier state. The continued development of cool climate regions together with a more sensitive hand in the winery has seen a new, chiselled and refined style of Chardonnay emerge. While it may be said that a few producers have taken things too far, with some wines being bare-boned and lean, the general move to sleeker wines less reliant on winemaker input has been a positive one.

As time has progressed, we have seen specific sites emerge that are capable of producing powerful and rich Chardonnays that sacrifice nothing in terms of tension, structure and the ability to age. Wines that come to mind include Red Hill’s Main Ridge and Beechworth’s Giaconda. In the contemporary idiom, both wines are quite ‘worked’, with up to 100% malolactic fermentation. However, one only needs to taste and to cellar these wines to see how well balanced they are and how well they can age.

Macedon’s Curly Flat is another benchmark Chardonnay that employs 100% malolactic fermentation. However, like the aforementioned Main Ridge and Giaconda, this is not a creamy, buttery Chardonnay, but a wine that balances fresh acidity with a rich (but not heavy) palate and wide expanse of flavours. There’s plenty to like here, but one suspects the real pleasure in this wine will be yielded with several years bottle age, as it is just a baby.

2010 CHARDONNAY
Producer: Curly Flat
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2010
Region: Macedon Ranges, Victoria
ABV: 13.8%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $50.00
Date tasted: 27 January 2013

Tasting Note:
Pale greenish yellow. Inviting nose of honeydew melon, white peach, guava. Touch of struck match. Subtle spicy oak lurks in the background. Dry, medium bodied, savoury, honeydew melon, Nashi pear, nectarine, touch of ginger underpinned by high quality oak. Limey acidity carries the finish, which is long and satisfying. Lively, vibrant and should age well. Yet another example of high quality modern Australian Chardonnay.
Score: 17.5+/20