Bridgewater Mill Chardonnay 2005

Bridgewater Mill Chardonnay 2005 (Adelaide Hills, SA)
Cork $20

The sooner we stop making wines like this, the better. It's everything that is bad about Chardonnay and the sort of style that turns people off. What's worse, is that I think that the fruit underneath is top quality stuff.

Perhaps it is just me - I'm feeling a little jaded after too many lacklustre Chardies of late, but as soon as my nose hovered above the glass, I was immediately turned off.

A yellow straw colour, the wine smells like oak - cheesy, grainy oak, mixing obscenely with some yeasty lees overtones & bottle aged Chardonnay fruit to form something sweet and derived. The palate is more attractive, with a rich, round mouthfeel with some nice fruit acidity towards the back end. But all the good work comes undone at the finish - with an intrusive, ugly wood chip flavour that is oak tannin at its worst. Yuk. Worse still, this has had an extra 12 months in bottle for everything to integrate, & the oak still sits on top like a growth. Disappointment plus. 13.8