IF you are listening to ABC Classic FM, there is no joy and perhaps no valid reason to hear a piece introduced as being played by the world’s 93rd-best orchestra.
It is the same in a key wine store. Would you buy a wine from a respected wine retailer after being told that it was in the mid range of the most recent 150 chardonnays that it’s tried?
Last week was light in terms of wines tasted: Friday, 28 masked wines, Sunday, 12 of the world’s better wines, including burgundies from 1971 and 1972 and, Monday, the Hamelin Bay range was the highlight followed by a hosted tasting of 18 Alsace, German and Austrian white wines.
We had a dinner for six that night matched with five of this country’s better wines.
That was before fronting up the next day at another masked line-up, this time 28 shiraz (of which the picks were the soon to be released Marchand and Burch Margaret River 2008 Shiraz and the very young Peppertree Hunter Valley “Coquun” 2007 release).
Thursday was a masked 15-wine chardonnay line-up hosted by Barry Weinman and on Friday 28 masked shiraz were tasted.
The Monday and Tuesday before provided the 1997 vintage d’ Yquem and the great 2001 Chateau Petrus among about 100 mainly imported wines tasted in Sydney and Melbourne.
HEGGIES CHARDONNAY SUCCESS
Of this most recent week’s masked tastings of more than 150 wines, we selected only five to recommend and two of these were the Heggies chardonnays from the Adelaide Hills.
For a couple of decades I found the Heggies rieslings and chardonnays to be too lean, dry and austere but with Peter Gambetta making the wines now there is more appealing flesh and life.
HEGGIES CHARDONNAY 2008
My second highest pointed wine of 15. This is light, balanced, fine, long and complete for drinking now, though it will live easily for four to five years.
This is restrained but has delightful flavours and textures that ‘dance’ their way down the palate. This is quality fruit that has been handled marvellously.
18.1 points and RRP $27
HEGGIES RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2007
Wow, this is also value. It is soft, full and supple with a hint of viscosity.
This wine is from the restrained oak-pure fruit school and the finish becomes leaner and drier.
The smoky oak is appealing and the high fruit quality is dense and fine knit, thus speaking volumes for both the vineyard and the season. It will drink best between 2011 and 2016 but is delicious now.
18.3pts and RRP $39.95