Some Chardonnay´s of Late

Chardonnay is a good compliment to the taste and texture of summer grilled fish, chicken and light meat. These bottles were tasted and drunk over the last week.

2000 Chablis Monteé de Tonnerre, Verget
A deep, mature, tempting nose with notes of sweet peaches, white flowers, lemon cream and a touch of vanilla oak. A fine maturity. With air some cap gun smoke and earth comes forward. Very fine.
The taste is big, creamy and mature with lots of mature yellow apples, cookie dough, lemon cream and dried flowers. A fine acidity to balance the creamy fruit. Fully mature. Very, very good.
89p   (tasted 2012/07)

2011 Thomas Hyland Chardonnay, Penfolds
A young, fresh, upfront nose with notes of red apples, mature pears, quince, nettles and cold butter. Holds well even with it gets warm in the glass. Very good.
The taste is more liniar than the nose with notes of not yet ripe apples, lemon peel and some lemon cream. The finish is on the short side. Some smoky notes after a while. Good enough but the 2010 vintage was better.
81p   (tasted 2012/07)

2010 Hawkes Bar Chardonnay, Trinity Hill
This NW Chardonnay is fresh and lovely from the first pour to the last. Not heaps of complexity but just gorgeous sweet and juicy fruit.. The nose is full of notes of elder berry, lemon ice cream, hazel nuts, cold butter and some freshly cut grass. Very nice.
The taste is pure, fresh and satisfying with lemon, lime, butter fried nuts and sweet minerals flowing over the palate. The finish is medium long and ends with a dry twist. A fine drinking Chardonnay.
89p   (tasted 2012/07)

2010 Pouilly-Fuissé, Domaine Georges Burrier
A young, steely, fresh nose with notes of lemon peel, elder berry, ginger, dry fudge and wet stone. A delicate nose. With air a touch of oak emerge. Very, very good.
The taste is young, tight and focused with notes of lemon cream, elder berry, cookie dough, yellow apples and steely minerals. Needs some air to blossom in the glass. Very young. This is a really fine Pouilly-Fussé but the previous vintage was even better.
90p   (tasted 2012/07)

2008 Chassagne-Montrachet, Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard
A deep, withdrawn, tight and classy nose with notes of white peaches, red apples, clay, dusting sugar and a fine smoky note. With air sweet summer flowers flows up from the glass. Really fine. Very young though.
The taste is young, potent and precious with gorgeous notes of red apples, caramel, roses, model clay and a touch of a vanilla pod. This is a nice piece of work that need some years in the cellar. I just got to try the Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru´s from Fontaine-Gagnard!
92p   (tasted 2012/07)