Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2018 Single Bottle
Country: Australia Region: Tasmania, Tumbarumba, Adelaide Hills
Varietal: Chardonnay Vintage: 2018
Colour: White Style: Dry
Producer: Penfolds
Description:
Australia’s most renowned and prestigious winery, Penfolds, was founded by Christopher Rawson, an English doctor who settled with his family in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1844 and saw the opportunity to plant vines he had brought with him from the Old World. This is how he began to produce fortified wines. However, his purposes were medicinal. His wines were prescribed to his patients as a remedy to combat anaemia. But the concoction was so well received that the winery was soon encouraged to produce red and white wines as well, and in less than a decade, the winery was producing half of Australia’s wines. Despite becoming large and powerful, this project has managed to maintain a rich winemaking tradition over 175 years that has been guarded by its four main winemakers: Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago. Four great professionals who have always strived to refine their work, but always respecting their predecessors.
Yattarna is the result of one of the most comprehensive, focused and highly publicised wine development projects ever conducted in Australia. The aspiration and independence of mind across generations of Penfolds winemakers inspired the ambition to create a white wine that would set a standard for ultra-fine Australian chardonnay. Selectively sourcing only the very best chardonnay fruit from cool climate regions, coupled with sensitive winemaking, the style continues to evolve.
Ageing Potential: Until 2039
"The 2018 Yattarna Chardonnay leads with marzipan and apple skins, white pepper, scratched citrus, crushed shells, saffron and sugared almonds. In the mouth, the wine is insanely silken and composed, like carded fleece, and the length of flavor feels interminable. This has aged what feels like about three seconds—it is timeless, ageless, restrained and long. Wow. If you can drink these wines from this age window and onward, you will be doing yourself the greatest service. This is a first-rate Chardonnay." 98 PTS Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, July 2024
Tasting Notes:
COLOUR:
Very pale straw with lime green hues
NOSE:
A pedigreed stylistic first alert – subtle flint, more rock-flint than struck-match.
A mist of limey citrus, curry leaf and hints of white peach. Quite an exotic ascent... no need to coax from glass via a vigorous swirl. Understated spoils of cool-climate, barrel-fermented chardonnay – a lovely waxiness, whiff of cashew, and subtle creaminess.
A Southern-Hemisphere reflection extolling Burgundian restraint, temperament.
PALATE:
At once, substantial flavour coupled with a textural dynamic; mouth-filling, engulfing – opens up aka mid-symphony, no instrument idle. White stone fruits – just ripe nectarine and freshly-sliced peach, and the most subtle adornment of oak and zesty acidity.
A wonderful line struts across the mid-palate, not brazenly, yet with real purpose /destination and persistence. Amplified innate potential; beautifully poised and defined.
Food Matches: White Meat (Pork, Veal...)
