Chandon Late Disgorged Vintage Rose 2009

Remember 2009: drought, water shortages, bushfires. It was a bleak year and, frankly, not a great one across the Australian wine-scape.

So, how to reconcile this absolute beauty from the 2009 vintage? I guess that’s where the magic of ageing on yeast – in this case, nine years – comes into play. It has worked an absolute treat, not that I’m trying to downplay the experience and ability of two of Australia’s most talented sparkling winemakers, Dan Buckle and Glenn Thompson! Not at all. It’s a testament to them, their sourcing of grapes, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from the Yarra Valley, Whitlands Plateau, Macedon Ranges and Tasmania, and the whole winemaking process that gives us this fabulous sparkling.

The colour is of a pale violet rose, clear and bright. It has a concentrated fragrance of berry (cherry, cranberry, raspberry) and fruit (watermelon), with a just-baked yeastiness. Layers of flavour, white peach and stone fruits, with bottle age bringing out the nuts and citrus fruit peel in an Italian nougat kind of way.

One of the more complex sparklings going around.