1998 Chandon Late Disgorged Brut Chardonnay Pinot Noir

This is as close to the ‘real thing’ as one will get from Australia!

Great ‘Champagne’ delivers elegance, finesse and complexity. The elegance and finesse is achieved by creating the base wine from grapes grown in cool areas of Australia, the prolonged ripening period adds length and finesse not achievable from fruit sourced from warmer vineyards. Time on lees is the ultimate layer – giving the wine a dimension that is highly prized.

This is an outstanding sparkling wine and we rate it as the best Late Disgorged from Chandon to date. The wine has spent nearly 7 years on lees, having been disgorged in mid June 2005.

The wine has a superb creamy white mousse, which settles slowly. The bead is super fine and remarkably persistent, reflective of the wine that is about to be tasted. The colour of the base wine is straw, with just a tinge of pale gold. The nose delivers superb refinement that is to be experienced on the palate – biscuit, yeast lees and freshly baked bread notes, reveal that this is quite a special drink. The palate has superb refined flavour profile with the Chardonnay component giving the wine its backbone and finesse. Exceptionally creamy texture, with flavours of citrus, winter strawberry and lees emerging which last well into the aftertaste. This is as close to the ‘real thing’ as one will get from Australia.
Cellar 3-4 years (2008-2009)
Alc/Vol: 12.5%