Picardy Chardonnay 2006 ($35)
Last night was spent at Burswood’s swanky new restaurant-bar (A)Lure for Scoop magazine’s spring wine tasting. I’m not the kind of person to eat or drink at top-end eateries and bars on the regular, but (A)Lure certainly looked like it had all the style of Melbourne’s finest watering holes-cum-eateries: impressive wine lists including plenty of ultra-premium Champagne and Aussie icon reds, an extensive beer list and the essential deep house soundtrack muzak. If only the restaurant didn’t overlook the pool and sometimes barren-looking riverside car parks – and if somehow we could have gotten the Danny Green and Otis Jackson fight piped into the private dining room at the back of the restaurant!
I arrived a little earlier than the scheduled start time to help open bottles and pour but was pleasantly surprised to find that all that had already been done: it’s amazing how much faster a tasting is to set up when almost every wine submitted is under screw cap. Apart from not having to wrestle with waiter’s friends and being on target with your pours, there’s the added benefit of not having any idea what you’re about to taste which makes for a completely objective tasting. Sometimes when pouring flights of wine, you can’t help but notice a familiar-looking logo or swatch of colour on a bottle neck and prejudicing your thoughts accordingly.
This wine was one that I was a little on my own in my appreciation for – admittedly not that uncommon as I am a fairly generous marker and the antithesis of a points miser, at least when it comes to scores between 16 and 18 using the 20-point scale. Surrounded by blatantly toasty and caramel-licked chardonnays, this looked out of place on the night, but when I learned the wine’s identity this morning via email, it made perfect sense. Throughout his time at Moss Wood, Bill Pannell was always one to stick to his guns and do things his way and his Burgundian-skewed winemaker son Daniel has followed closely in his footsteps.
Closed nose. Subtle citrus fruit sprinkled with vanilla. The oak influence has imparted a distinct mealiness which I found very attractive and appealing, though at this stage it did dominate the mouth a little. Lots going on on the multi-layered palate, but never approaching chaos. The wine finishes succulent and long with bursts of citrus right through the finish. Right up my chardonnay alley and styled unmistakably according to the Picardy house style. Due for release later this year in September when the wine will no doubt soak up a little more of the oak, I suspect my credit card details will once again be making their way to a little boutique winery in Pemby for more punishment… www.picardy.com.au
The rest of the night was spent with fellow tasters at the bar with many a cleansing ale. Perhaps too many some might argue: Hoegaarden, Hoegaarden Forbitten Fruit ($7 a bottle! Can you believe it?) and the wonderfully bright, floral and hoppy Knappstein Lager made for quite the nightcap.
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