Coldstream Hills Chardonnay/Pinot Noir Sparkling 2016
- 92
- $35
- Drink by: 2021-2024
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A very fine sparkler, a single vineyard release from the Yarra Valley, in particular the south-facing slopes of the Deer Farm Vineyard which is located in the cooler Upper Yarra sector of the Valley with over four years on lees. Coldstream Hills winemaker, Andrew Fleming, is responsible for this clean, fresh, aperitif style. Andrew has been chief winemaker here since 2001. He has moved from the original Blanc de Noirs style which was the first release back in 1995, a decade after James Halliday first founded the place, to a more elegant, crisper blend. The wine is a blend of 58.3% Chardonnay and 41.7% Pinot Noir. Dosage is just 6.5g/L, a little less than we see with most champagnes.
This is a lovely clear, pale yellow. Citrus notes including grapefruit and lemon rind on the nose. Good balance, bright acidity and fine length. Hints of brioche emerge on the palate. Expect these to increase. Delicious now, but no reason it won’t handle a few years in the cellar.
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
