Before the break, I received a wonderful Christmas present of my own with the news that Huon Hooke of The Real Review had rated the recently released 2023 Chardonnay 97 points and placed it at the top of the tree as number one of the 2023 Chardonnays from Tasmania.
Of the 2023 Chardonnay, Huon said, ‘bright light yellow; intense struck flint aromas at first pour, almost an electrical fire aroma. Then citrus and spice. The wine is tense and lean on the tongue, firm and taut, the focus tight and the acidity brisk. Long and linear in the mouth, with intense grapefruit and gooseberry flavours. It really benefits from some air. Great fruit concentration and energy. A superb wine that shows enormous potential.’
This is great recognition for a Chardonnay vintage that I always had high hopes for. Whilst the cooler (and wetter) growing season resulted in some uneven fruit set in the Chardonnay (known as ‘millerondage’ or hen and chickens referring to the differing berry sizes) this resulted in intense concentration in the resulting fruit. With this intensity as well as the acidity associated with the cooler vintage, I’m confident that the 2023 Chardonnay will be one you can pop in the cellar for a few years.
If you haven’t tried it yet, I’m sure that you will enjoy it as much as Huon did!
Sharing the love around, for a limited time I’ve lifted the 6 bottle limit on the Chardonnay so you can go crazy…
