Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2007 (Yarra Valley, Vic)
Screwcap, $20

Bright lemon yellow in colour, the nose reeks of the finest medium toast oak barrels. Its a fragrant, albeit wood derived nose of typical wooded Chardonnay allure. This sort of oak keeps the punters happy. Underneath the oak there is a suggestion of white peach, fig and jaffas, edged with a little volatility for good measure. The palate tastes like oak – sweet vanillan Quercus Petraea (assuming its French) followed by round tinned peach fruit, oak tannins and an alcohol hit on the back palate. It feels hot to finish and the whole palate seems unbalanced and blowsy.

All in all its a simple, one dimensional and particularly dissapointing Chardonnay. I hate caning wines, but this seemed out of step compared to the rest of the smartly made Balgownie wines. 14