2004
Savaterre Chardonnay......Sold Out......Sold
Out...Sold Out
"There's
a special something here. It's not just about the fruit power. It's
the crisp clean white flowers, the scent of hazelnuts, the puff
of nectarines and pears. It's a very restrained wine. A very beautiful
wine. And it finishes with lovely, elegant, sure length. This is
as good as the 2002 chardonnay release, and possibly a whisper better.
Drink 2007-2013. 96 points"
Campbell Mattinson, Winefront
Monthly: February 2006
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2004
was a vigneron's vintage! A beautifully mild and gentle year produced
grapes of the highest possible quality. Rain fell when instructed,
the sun obliged at all the right times and after the hard slog of
2003 it was a welcome year.
The 2004 wines
all have an added dimension to them. Every aspect of the wines just
seems that more focused, deeper and pure. I am not sure if this
is simply the result of a stunning growing season or possibly, the
years of biodynamic farming, the close planting, the increasing
vine age or all of the above. Let's save some time pondering the
indeterminable and just conclude the results speak for themselves.
The wonderful thing about wine is that no matter how much spin,
hype etc you encounter, the ultimate truth about a wine is in the
glass. I feel very proud of the 2004 offerings.
Tasting
Notes:
Close
planted vines (7000vines/Ha) cropped at very low levels (less than
a bottle of wine per vine!) combined with a wonderful growing season
produced the most intense, balanced and focused Savaterre wines
to date.
As usual
the wines are made in an unhurried manner with wild yeasts, 100%
natural malolactic, 17 months slow cool elevage in the very best
French tight grain barriques and finally bottled without filtration.
This attention to detail allows the wine to express its terroir
without the winemaker’s fingerprints being obvious.
Brilliant
straw colour with a chartreuse tinge framing the wine.
The bouquet
is at first restrained crisp and shy, offering only a restrained
white peach citrus blossom note. Swirl it around in your glass and
the full picture begins to appear, not all at once but in revealing
phases that adds to the enjoyment of this wine.
It opens up
to a powerful concentrated minerally aroma of nectarines, pears,
spice, smoky grilled hazelnuts, praline, mealiness and citrus blossom.
There is a hint of burnt matchstick on the finish which I feel will
develop into a beautiful complex characteristic in the next 5-10
years.
It is
on the palate that all this promise is rewarded. Aromas combine
to deliver an amazingly focused concentration and intensity of flavours
that continues to evolve and amplify as you swirl. Complexity, concentration
combines with a beautifully integrated texture and minerality. The
wine has a wonderfully long, textured and focused finish. Length,
balance, complexity and power. It’s all there waiting to go
forward and evolve slowly into a wine I believe will be magnificent
in 5-15 years time.
Store at 14C.
All
grapes under this label are sourced exclusively from the Savaterre
Vineyard in Beechworth. |
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