2004 ESTATE CHARDONNAY
STUART GREGOR, DON'T BUY WINE WITHOUT ME 2007
2007 BEST WHITE WINE OVER $20
It's the ultimate litmus test for a bloke who gets sent a lot of wine for free - would I pay out of my own sky rocket for a case of the wine? Yes I would and yes I did (at a good price of course. I'm not stupid). Toolangi is quite simply the hottest name in chardonnay right now, they make three of them. I love them all but I love this one most - simply gorgeous stuff and worth every penny of my own hard-earned.
Toolangi makes three exquisite chardonnays and this is the middle child, between the delicous $20 baby and the brilliant but almost unobtainable $65 Reserve. If you are going to spend $35 or so on chardonnay, just buy this. It's what 'modern' Australian chardonnay is all about, and if you don't know what that means, just taste a bottle. If you don't like it, you don't like chardonnay, you don't like me - and you can go back to sauvignon blanc for all I care.
HUON HOOKE, WINE OF THE WEEK
GOOD LIVING, 11 July 2006
This is the middle ranked of Toolangi's three chardonnays and was made by Tom Carson at Yering Station. It's a bright, fresh, fruit-driven chardonnay with plenty of subtle, underlying complexity that builds as you sip, showing real richness and depth and a lingering aftertaste that's beautifully balanced and satisfying. Aromas of peach and nougat are joined by vanilla, toasted nuts and honey in the mouth. Oak is present but is so well harmonised as to be unnoticed. It's crisp and alive in the mouth despite its subtle richness. Alcohol at 13 percent is well balanced. It drinks well now but should keep nicely for four or five years. It comes with a choice of cork or screwcap. 95/100
Food roast chicken; coq au vin made with white wine; fully ripe Bouche d'Affinois or Brie de Meaux cheeses; cold lobster and salad.
WINE WITH STUART GREGOR
SUNDAY MAGAZINE, 23 April 2006
Oh, Toolangi, you've done it again! This is a brand that has seduced me from day one and, yet again, it has released three Chardonnays at $25, $45 and $70, all of which are brilliant. The middle child is oft overlooked, but its my fave of the trio.
Stuart Gregor is director of public relations and marketing business Liquid Ideas and the author of Don't Buy Wine Without Me.
CAMPBELL MATTINSON, GOURMET TRAVELLER WINE
April/May 2006
WINES TO TRY - 2004 TOOLANGI ESTATE CHARDONNAY
Creamy, yeasty, complex and intense, it's a wine to linger over and ponder, and it sets a very high standard.
RALPH KYTE-POWELL, THE AGE EPICURE
24 January 2006
In these days of 14.5 per cent alcohol chardonnay's, it's a welcome relief to see a 13 per cent wine like this that loses nothing by being less alcoholic. From the Yarra Valley, it's gently complex, reminiscent of figs, butter, nuts and smoky oak. A hint of earthiness adds interest and the fine palate has a soft, dry finish.
Ageing? Drink over two years plus.
Food ideas: Pork Cutlets with braised apples; salmon.
CAMPBELL MATTINSON, WINEFRONT MAGAZINE
February 2006
Love this wine. Slatey, fuzzy peachy, maybe a bit creamy, nutty on the finish and with a lovely interplay between out-and-out yumminess and serious head-turning complexity. It feels a little strange and hard on the finish but it's also not been long bottled. A very fine Yarra Valley chardonnay. Drink: 2007-2009. 92 points.
JANE FAULKNER, THE AGE A2
Saturday 15 July 2006
Toolangi seals this under screw cap and cork - opt for screw cap if you can. Clean with rich, ripe stone fruit characters, nutty with lifted vanillin notes, there's complexity and texture built in by lees contact, oak is balanced with a rather lovely creaminess on the palate.
