Patina Reserve Chardonnay 2008 (Orange, NSW)
11.9%, Screwcap, $35

There is ‘tight’ Chardonnay and then there is ‘sparkling base masquerading as table wine’. This is the latter.

A round of applause if you could pick this as 2008, for it looks like it was bottled a year ago. Very light straw in colour, it smells delicate and awfully backward for a 6 year old Chardonnay (from anywhere). It tastes light too, the acid tart, the flavours more of a whisper and overrun by very firm, even hard acidity. There’s some melon fruit in there, which saves this from ignominy, but otherwise I struggled to see the fun with this style.

Fresh, but ultimately hard work. Not quite.

Source: Sample
Tasted: July 2014
Drink: 2014-2018
Score: 16/20, 86/100
Would I buy it? No.
Buy online: Patina website