Recommendation: A VERY nice “New World” Chardonnay that was excellent drinking alone and good with food.
Winery/Producer: Vasse Felix; Cowaramup, Australia.
Grape Variety: Chardonnay.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Margaret River; Western Australia.
Vintage: 2013
Price: $36.99 (AUS$) about $24.97 (US$ with a 10% mixed case discount); plus $20 corking fee.
Purchased From: Vintage Cellars; 891 Hay Street; Perth, Australia.
Paired With: Caesar salad with garlic and parmesan cheese. Sauteed garlic shrimp with wilted spinach and jasmine rice.
Tasting:
He said: Chilled before drinking. Rich golden color. Vanilla and oak aromas. Buttery, smooth, ripe melon taste that finishes with a nice, slightly crisp acidity, some nutty flavors and a tiny hint of bitterness. Quite a dramatic a dramatic change in mid-palate from smooth flavors to delicious crispness. It went well with the salad and OK with the shrimp. A VERY nice Chardonnay that was excellent drinking alone and good with food, but wasn’t “in-your-face”. It’s a wine I would recommend and would drink frequently if it was available. I think it was not a memorable Chardonnay only because this was not a pairing that was up to the wine. Great “New World” Chardonnay and I wish we had another bottle!!!
She said: Clear with well spaced legs moving at a modest clip. Light aroma of fruit and hints of vanilla; weighty on the palate with a taste of minerality or perhaps just a chalkiness and a long finish tasting slightly of vanilla and oak. The shrimp came with an unexpected tomato sauce but the wine went well with the shrimp flavor that prevailed. I wouldn’t choose the tomato sauce with the wine but the shrimp were still a very tasty pairing. The wine was especially good with the salad. Good Australian Chardonnay that was delicious both alone and with the shrimp and salad. It’s smoothness made it very drinkable and its flavors made it versatile. Best drunk when close to room temperature rather than too cold.
Comments: Purchased from a Perth, Australia wine shop and consumed in the Britannia Restaurant on board the Cunard Queen Mary 2.
Alcohol: 13%
Bar code: 9 315032 008087
Imported by: NA