Pity us Australians. We’re a wine-drinking population conditioned by our Federal Government’s taxation policies to drink only young wine. As a result we’re far more accustomed to the pleasures of immature, primary fruit characters and straightforward oak expression than to the more sophisticated complexity and character that the very same wines might have become had only they been given a sporting chance. Although most top-drawer Australian chardonnay is consumed well before its peak and light years before its use-by date, it’s fortunate that winemakers still hold the view that cellaring potential is still an important facet in the quality equation. To put it more simply, if they’re going to charge around $30 for a bottle of dry white, it has to be able to improve in the bottle. In the main, this doesn’t mean that the same wines aren’t able to offer a great deal of pleasure in their early days. Pour me a young Vasse Felix, St Huberts, Evans & Tate or Shaw & Smith Reserve any day. For sheer intensity of fruit, balance, poise and freshness they’re very hard to beat. They might be heavily wooded, given a full malolactic fermentation or left on fermentation lees for up to a year, but deft winemaking prevents these facets from over-dominating the wine. On the other hand, other high-profile wines are utterly wasted unless given some age. Only in rare years do the premium Hunter labels such as Lake’s Folly and Tyrrells Vat 47 present sufficient generosity and mouthfeel to warrant an early investigation. Certain chardonnays, Petaluma and Coldstream Hills being amongst them, can appear almost deficient in their early days. Look closely at youthful examples of these wines and it becomes clear they are deficient neither in length nor in characteristics which result from a variety of winemaking influences. Chardonnays from certain vineyards, especially if made by winemakers who offer almost total or complete protection from oxidation during their making, do require further time to reveal the richness and complexity of which they are ultimately capable. So what happens as premium chardonnays mature? Given that some begin life tight, almost clear and restrained a la Yeringberg, while others are born a la Mountadam, it’s difficult to predict the course of every wine in a few sentences. Top wines will ultimately develop towards a yellow-golden colour of moderate depth, at which point they are likely to be fully mature or perhaps, unluckily, just passed it. Brown in the colour usually indicates a stage too close to senility for comfort. Primary flavours become less apparent, whether derived from fruit (eg nectarine, peach, cashew, grapefruit, tropical fruit), oak (eg vanilla, lemon, toast, spices, matchstick), lees contact (eg nutty, creamy, yeasty) or other winemaking practices such as secondary fermentation (eg butterscotch, toffee, bacon). Hopefully these flavours undergo a gradual transition into less clearly defined qualities which may relate to flowers, honey, spices, butter, roast nuts or smoky influences. It’s undeniable that unless a particularly distinctive characteristic evolves in a wine (the mint in Mildara’s famous Peppermint Pattie being an extreme example), it’s far more difficult to pin precise flavour descriptors on mature wines than with younger examples. Most of the real benefits of cellaring chardonnay are discovered on the palate. What may once have been lean, tight and acidic may develop into a soft, generous and smooth experience. Robust, fuller and more aggressive young styles may become quite concentrated in their delivery of flavour, offering a sweetness and unctuousness that has absolutely nothing to do with sugar whatsoever. It’s very sad that most wine drinkers have never tasted a mature Australian chardonnay of top quality. What’s even sadder is that many fail to understand them when they do. So, be prepared! Breakout: Australian chardonnays worth cellaring: Bannockburn Classically Burgundian style with fatness and finesse capable of reaching great complexity. An Australian great. Coldstream Hills Reserve Look very oaky while young, but settle into a sophisticated style after five years. Really builds in the bottle. Dalwhinnie Very big, but very balanced. This vineyard can develop great weight and depth which maturation certainly enhances. Giaconda One of our very best. Chablis-like weight, but surprisingly rich in flavour. Superbly balanced and a pedigree for cellaring. Lake’s Folly Although added acids occasionally show through, this is one of the true wonders of the Hunter. Truly wasted without cellaring. Leeuwin Estate Australia’s definitive cellaring chardonnay – a wine which proves we can make them for twelve years and more. Moss Wood Stylish, restrained, sophisticated Margaret River chardonnay with quince and ruby grapefruit. Never overweight. Mount Mary A more oxidative (as distinct from oxidised) style which usually fully justifies the risks taken in its making. A true cellar prospect. Mountadam Rich, chunky and alcoholic, full on in its ripeness, malolactic treatment and lees contact. A blockbuster and a proven performer in the cellar. Petaluma Need time to develop from their clinical and pristine youthful phase into richer, rounder wines of genuine class and complexity. Wasted young. Pierro At the head of the pack. Powerful, yet fully controlled wines given full Burgundian treatment. A pioneer of more robust Australian chardonnay. Pipers Brook Finely balanced, but supremely rich and round in warmer years. Sometimes retain cool climate-derived tropical flavours. Rosemount Roxburgh Trendy to knock, delicious to drink after five years and more. Early vintages appeared to age too soon, but they’ve held together. Recent vintages should go the distance. Shaw & Smith Reserve Brilliant, stylish, deftly made wines of sophistication and direction. Probably won’t be kept for long enough since they’re delicious at release. Tarrawarra Tchaikovsky (check spell) at a tender moment. Breathtaking depth meets finely-tuned elegance. Creamy, rich and supple. Long term stuff. Tyrrells Vat 47 A vintage by vintage proposition, like every Hunter. Top years last for ages, flowering with Burgundian complexity and lightness of touch. Yeringberg Chablis by weight, often Burgundian in complexity and long-term by nature. Fine, lean, austere style perfectly suited to long-term maturation.
