[SOLD-OUT] Giaconda Chardonnay 2008 Estate Vineyard

eRobertParker.com 97 points!
"This 2008 Chardonnay has incredibly intense aromas of peach blossom, golden delicious apple, pineapple, meal, struck match, ginger shortbread, fennel seed and white pepper going into some pleasantly funky aromas with some air. The medium to full-bodied palate is crisp, very tight and very concentrated with a very long finish giving some minerality. In short, this is a beautiful wine. I tried this one from screwcap and cork " the cork is just a shade more open at the moment, but there's not much difference. 800 cases made. Drink 2012 though 2021+. Of all my visits around Victoria this time, Giaconda was one of the most fascinating and rewarding. Fascinating because Rick Kinzbrunner is inspired and inspiring, rewarding because the wines are so mind-blowingly good. If not Australia's greatest dry white wine, Giaconda's Chardonnay is certainly right up there. The grapes come from a small (4 hectare) patch of silicified soil (unique to this area) just in front of the winery. In terms of production, there are no shortcuts. Receiving 100% barrel fermentation, natural yeasts and full malo-lactic, the wine spends just under 2 years in barrel, 1/3 new wood. It is left on its lees for 2 years, but if necessary some barrels are racked. There is not a lot of lees stirring here and the wine is never pumped or filtered but strictly bottled by gravity flow."
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate # 189 Jun 2010

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"Forget about cultured yeasts, forget about added malo-lactic bacteria, forget about fancy airbag presses, pumps, filters and stainless steel tanks. Forget about fertilizers, or any other type of vineyard additives, forget about magical vineyard preparations or chemical sprays. This wine is grown in 500 million year old soil that has basically never been interfered with; in fact I have never even done a soil test! My aim here is for the ultimate expression of the absolutely natural terroir and now I am able to age the wine deep in the terroir itself. The nose has typical Giaconda characters " hints of meal; matchstick and minerals with overtones of toasty oak. The 2008 while slightly more refined and elegant (due to earlier picking in cooler conditions) combines all the best aspects of the 04; 05 and 06 vintages and still maintains the length and power on the finish which is a Giaconda hallmark. This could be the most refined Giaconda Chardonnay for years, but still embodies the usual drive and power..."
Rick Kinzbrunner, Giaconda Wines

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Country:

Australia

Region:

VIC- Geelong

Variety:

Wine White - Chardonnay

Size:

750mL