Superb bright pale green gold colour with the only evidence of the 14.5 % alcohol shown in the thick weeping tears that form on the inside of the glass. Heavenly fruit-driven nose of ripe green pear, green melon, pink graprefruit, white peach, yellow nectarine with only minimal input from some exquisite mealy/spicy/charry French oak. The palate punches out an instant replay of what just transpired, with the pristine, glossy fruit doing most of the talking. Magnificently honed, this great Chardonnay displays a luscious, multilayered, mouthfilling, yet almost impossibly refined, texture, great line, terrific length and abundant reserves of weighty fruit that, at this stage, literally swamps the Rolls Royce oak and profoundly good juicy acidity sitting underneath. As much as I loved this, I’m prepared to go out on somewhat of a spindly limb and suggest this wine may not make particularly old bones. So if you’ve bought a quantity of this and because of its hefty price, it’s mighty difficult to suggest to “monitor closely and regularly”, so I’d recommend drinking what you’ve got over the next several years and avoid the bitter disappointments I’ve had in recent times with my last 1999’s (overtly oaky, disjointed, hot finish, dreadful) and one 2002 (premoxed and totally buggered - believe Gary Walsh at Winorama has had similar problems with more than one of this vintage). So no problems giving this beauty 95 points today but with a big question mark on where this might be in the mid- to long-term. Somehow I think the steeliness of structure in the 2001 LEAS (last tasted 04/07) still represents the best “keeper” vintage of what I’ve tried of this label over the last many years.

Being in the midst of trying to contain a bout of high blood sugars, alcohol consumption is not a good idea and should be frowned upon by all and sundry (including moi), but in this case I had my parents over for fish and salad earlier in the week, opening this bottle for them and I have been drinking about 50-60ml/per day over the last three days. The most surprising aspect of this outstanding wine’s evolution is there’s no downside! In fact, I thought it better tonight than when first opened and without the faintest hint of oxidation - quite remarkable for a wine that’s already been worked aplenty at the winery.

Boasting an attractive, glowing youthful straw colour, lifted aromatics of spicy new oak, bacon fat, meal, some leesy barrel reduction over subdued grapefruit, nectarine and guava fruit and a superbly delineated, tight and focussed palate offering up a terrific array of citrus, stonefruits and complex nutty, leesy characters with the barest suggestion of butter and butterscotch. And to round things out, there’s plenty of bright integrated acidity to maintain freshness as well as an invigorating lengthy departure. My only criticism was an intitial burst of astringency in the finish on day one, that dissipated over the first hour and has not been seen since. One could be tempted to think this of Burgundian ancestry if unaware of its identity - it could pass as a superior Puligny 1er Cru, 6-8 years of age. An extremely impressive effort with some time up its sleeve for further improvement. Drink now-2012+. Screwcap 13.5% A/V. All Adelaide Hills (South Australia) fruit. 92 points

What an impressive first showing! Intensely steely and mineral-laden nose housing an abundance of rapier-like citrus (limes/lemons), oyster shell and seaspray. Similarly etched palate, although, surprisingly, quite generous and mouthfilling with typical Chablis grippy chalky/minerally acidity and an explosively long, invigorating finish. Went ohso well with the freshly shucked 3 year old Sydney rock oysters. Needs a calming year or two to be at its best but performed brilliantly in this instant with the oysters. Long cellaring window anticipated. 92 points

13% A/V Screwcap

Made at Yering Station in Victoria’s Yarra Valley by that winery’s very talented winemaker, Tom Carson, this Outstanding Chardonnay displays a still very youthful bright straw/green colour. The bouquet harbours a wealth of nuance - combining creamy ripe white peach and fig fruit with complex worked barrel characters of meal, grilled nuts, struck match and char. In the mouth the wine exhibits a lovely balance of similarly etched fruit and oak with a creamy mouthfeel, beautifully counterbalanced by natural minerally acidity and a crunchy, lingering aftertaste. This fine wine delivers pure, somewhat unevolved, hedonistic pleasure and will last for several years if stored in a dark, cool place. At $35, this wine deserves a rating of 92 points and the remainder of the six pack it came from, will soon adorn a special little possie in my cellar.

Fevre, supposedly, underwent a quantum leap in quality after being acquired by the revitalised Champagne house, Henriot, in 1998 (who, reportedly, also effected similar improvements with the purchase of Bouchard Pere et Fils in 1995). Having been in raptures after trying the 2000 Grand Cru “Valmur” (95 points), although a little less impressed by the promising but somewhat closed, “Les Clos” (91-93 points - a longer term proposition than the Valmur, perhaps, yet I am to be convinced it’s the better wine), I managed to procure just a few bottles of Fevre’s Premier Cru’s - “Montmains” and “Montee de Tonnerre” to further expand my horizons on this firm’s “improved’” performance. I am pleased to report this particular wine delivers the “goods” in spades.

Holding a youthful straw/green appearance with a polished hue, the effusive bouquet invokes a myriad of nuance - white flowers, meal, melon, lime, minerals, bacon fat and seaspray - this is the classic “Chablis” package - elusively enticing and pure, yet so complex and complete. In the mouth, this wine is just a mere pup - tight, steely with enormous reserves of mineral-tinged acidity - yet possesses an eerie grace but with an aura of unleashed power and unquestionable longevity. Flavours of green melon, lime, meal and a distinct calciferous note are followed by a crisp, minerally finish of some duration. Allusively subtle and focussed, this wine deserves careful extended cellaring to reach its full potential. Unfortunately, for someone like me, it would difficult to keep my hands off it on this current form. Another classic wine from Fevre and without any equivocation, deserves a rating of at least 93 points (with a bullet for something much higher, in due course). Drink now to 2020.

13% A/V. Sealed with a cork closure.

This very good, although sometimes variable, producer delivers the goods with this excellent Chardonnay from the 2000 vintage. At six years of age the wine’s colour is still a youthful bright straw/lemon/green. The nose exudes the haunting, complex mineral, slate and chalky notes of the appellation, a strong lees-derived mealy overtone with hints of underripe melon and dried figs providing great interest underneath. Traces of butterscotch and toffe add more dimension, but only after several hours breathing. In the mouth, the wine displays plenty of vitality, crispness and that “well-worn” Chablis racy, flinty elegance with assertive minerally acidity counterbalancing the tart, lemon-tinged melony/mealy fruit. Only of moderate weight, the palate reveals a classical “peacock tail” finish as it slips too easily down the throat. Very little evidence of the thirteen per cent alcohol here, with the lengthy mouth-puckering dry finish providing the perfect ending to a very competent package. 90 points. Drink now-2015. 

The considerable winemaking talents of Andrew Spinaze fashioned this outstanding example of racy Chardonnay - brilliant bright straw green colour, fascinating nose of gunflint, struck match, apple cider, slightly oily, lightly charred French oak, complimentary green fruits of guava and honey-dew melon, grilled cashew and a flinty minerality suspiciously reminiscent of a very fine Mersault and the steeliness of a Grand Cru Chablis. The palate paints an almost identical canvas - tightly coiled, well focussed and mealy with attractive green melon and guava underpinned with attractive oily/lightly toasted/nutty oak and very fine integrated indelible acidity. Finishes long and crisp with mouth-quenching, crunchy apple- and citrus-laden acidity. Good cellaring prospect. Drink 2007-2012+. 13.1% A/V. Sealed with a cork closure. 92 points