Ballabourneen Stuart Chardonnay 2010

Ballabourneen ‘Stuart’ Chardonnay 2010 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Screwcap, $30
Source: Wine List
www.ballabourneen.com.au

I tried this in the Hunter recently and it again reminded me how much joy there is in the modern style of Hunter Chardonnay. Leaner – but not meaner – than the styles of yore, they’re ultimately pretty satisfying sorts of drinks (or the better ones are at least).

And this is a goodun’. Clean, white nectarine fruit with just a whiff of creamed pineapple, fruit-meets-oak richness. Fresh, yet still in the riper end of the Chardonnay spectrum, it’s got that bounding Hunter ripeness, yet it’s been picked early enough and treated sensitively enough in the winery to make for a crisp, yet delectable, entirely drinkable white. It’s an easily aproachably, yet not sweet or overtly dumbed down, drink-now Chardonnay in a clever modern ilk. I liked it. 17.7/92