Reviewed: 10 October 2012

Fine Wine Partners is a wholesaler who represents a number of quality Australian and international producers. Given the number of wines on tasting, I elected to focus on chardonnay and pinot noir as I could not get through everything on offer and still make sense.

My reviews are a touch brief, due to the limited time I had available. As this was not a blind tasting, use my points as a rough guide only.

Reviewed

Champagne

Ayala – Brut Nature – NV (17.8). Lovely nose with real thrust. Think brioche, dough and struck match. The palate is long and complex with excellent line. The toasty developed characters blend with citrus fruit and zest. Whilst this is bone dry, it is in no way austere as there is a degree of richness to the fruit and lovely mouth-feel.

Bollinger – NV (18). A degree of ripeness and richness here, but the fruit is perfectly balanced. There is remarkable elegance for a wine of this power. The palate is very long and powerful, with the fruit building in the mouth. There is an almost chewy texture to close. Super stuff.

Chardonnay

Joseph Drouin – Chardonnay – Beaune – 1er Cru – Clos des Mouches – 2009 (17.5 – 18). A lovely wine that is restrained and tight, with the power of the mineraly fruit on display on the palate. The length is excellent. A lovely wine for drinking now to 5 years.

MacRostie – Chardonnay – Sonoma County – 2009 (17.5 – 18). Quite a restrained and taught nose with real potential. With air the fruit really plumps up nicely. The palate is rich and ripe, with buttery oak and ripe stone fruit flavours. Quite peachy really, this is a bigger style that packs in the flavour, yet has good balance and excellent length. If you like a richer style, this is definitely worth a try.

Oakridge – Chardonnay – Denton Vineyard – 2011 (17.5 – 18). Worked, barrel ferment and lees aromas, with struck match and flinty complexity. The powerful, though refined palate that has excellent mouth-feel and texture. Quality fruit, expertly handled.

Villa Maria – Chardonnay – Reserve Barrique (17.5+). Lovely nose that has delicate peachy fruit over fine, creamy, winemakers inputs. The palate is more forward, with peachy fruit complemented by medium toast, high quality oak. I would like to see this again in 2-3 years to see if the oak comes back to the fruit. Impressive all the same.

Joseph Drouin – Chardonnay – Chablis – 2010 (16.8). Lovely minerality and gentle complexity to a wine that is unmistakably Chablis. The palate is fresh and bright, with quality fruit in evidence. There is plenty of minerals and hints of honey on a finish that, whilst not complicated, is admirably long.

Pinot Noir

MacRostie – Pinot Noir – Wildcat Mountain – 2007 (18). Superb wine that, whilst not Burgundian in style, has gorgeous fruit and winemaking. This is a wine to drink, rather than to think too much about.

Oakridge – Pinot Noir – Oakridge Vineyard – 2011 (18). Lovely perfumed nose with fruit in the cherry spectrum. The palate is feminine, balanced and long. There is a degree of fleshiness to the fruit, but this is balanced by fresh acid and fine oak. Very smart!

Villa Maria – Pinot Noir – Southern Clay – 2010 (17.5 – 18). Beautiful colour here. Initially, the nose is quite shy and tight, while there is amazing depth to the palate. Sweet fruit, texturing oak and taught tannins flood the senses. This is a big ripe wine that retains a degree of typicity, though in a very new world in style. A few years should see this settle and come together beautifully. Points for potential.

Stoniers – Pinot Noir – 2010 (17.5+). Delicate colour. A very feminine wine that is lighter in body than the others here. Whilst there is delicate floral fruit on both the nose and palate, there is surprising depth to the fruit on the palate. A soft, refined finish ensures that this is excellent drinking.

Villa Maria – Pinot Noir – Cellar Selection – 2010 (17 – 17.5). Gentle red fruits on the nose. The palate has lovely, vibrant fruit that is framed by juicy acidity. Good length and mouth-feel on the finish. Not overly complex, but the hint of smoky oak on the finish really adds to the texture.