Bellevue Estate Cellar Reserve Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2009

I was moments away from opening this bottle when I read the front label to refresh myself of the winemaker's notes. It summarised with 'should drink well anytime over the next two years'. Thinking it best not to argue with the winemaker and that a year in storage would be worth the wait, I put it back in the cupboard and began looking through my other wines. Finally I changed my mind again, thinking that in my yearning for learning I should in fact try a young wine, saving bottle #2 for the right age. Finally I realised I am in fact a total moron, because it's 2011 now and a 2009 bottle, so it's already had two years of maturing prior to me buying it. So, finally, I opened it and poured.

Firstly, it's fair to say Chardonnay isn't really my thing. I quickly decided when I began drinking white wine in hotter weather that Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc were superior. This Chardonnay first reaffirmed these thoughts, but halfway through the first glass I began to appreciate it a little more - although not usually my ideal white, the flavours were strong enough and interesting enough to keep me thinking and tasting. This is the second Chardonnay I've had this year, the first at a wine tasting, and that was similar to this in that it didn't remind me of the overcompensated sweetness of mass production. It's a bottle I could drink in it's entirety in an evening, without thinking about food it would go with, what might or might not have improved it, and without getting bored. Still not comparable to a great Sauvignon Blanc, but it certainly has its place, and right now it's place is in my throat with a little burn of spice as I finish a second large glass and correct my resultantly bad spelling.