A.Retief Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2011
There are some women you come across, elfin, delicate, fragile individuals that give you the impression they'll break at the merest suggestion of contact, yet they have this irresistible charm - this allure, this intoxicating, seductive quality that just reels you in. This wine is like that.
Delicate citrus aromatics with a honeyed note; a coiled, tight, clenched fist of a wine in the mouth, revealing an almond, nutty element on entry, some Chablis-like oyster shell moving toward the spine of acid. For a wine that was fermented in 100% new French oak - you wouldn't know it, malo has imparted a gentle creaminess on the finish. Length, balance, fragility...subtle intensity. Would love to see how it evolves. 92+ - Very Good
Source: Sample
Source: Sample
Price: $45
Alcohol: 13%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.aretief.com.au
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I subsequently learned that only 1 of the 5 barrels went through Malolactic fermentation (whereby harder malic acid is converted to softer lactic acid and actually not a true fermentation at all).
ReplyDeleteSo this wasn't true, the creaminess instead likely a result of the 100% new oak the wine saw. Doesn't change the assessment - still a stunner.