BK Wines Swaby Chardonnay 2012
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Wine
Spectator -
Wine &
Spirits -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The 2012 Swaby Chardonnay is a remarkable example of the much maligned grape coming back into favor yet again. Barrel fermentation with copious amount of battonage would appear to be a recipe for 1990s California Chardonnay, but no so much here. There is plenty of brightness and clarity to a broad wine. The grapes are whole bunch pressed to 30% new French wood and naturally fermented. Battonage occurs daily over a nine month window while resting for a total of 12 months in barrel. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally as well with 80% of the volume going fully through malo. The result must be tasted to be believed. It has its foot in the new world while paying tribute to great Chardonnay of the old.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Sleek and silky, brimming with toasty, mineral-accented pear compote and savory spice flavors, lingering easily on the expressive finish. Has presence and finesse. Drink now through 2020. 350 cases made.
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Wine & Spirits
It's sweet and unctuous like a roiling ocean, hinting at scents of ginger, peach pit and kelp, its pale, smoky flavors in constant motion. Catch its now or five years from now, decanted to bring up the full-bore complexity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Swaby Chardonnay is a single vineyard, wild ferment wine aged in 30% new French oak with 50% of the blend undergoing malolactic fermentation. The nose reveals gorgeous peaches and cream, brioche and pineapple tart notes intermingled with suggestions of crushed stones, lemon zest and orange blossoms. Light to medium-bodied on the palate, the intense citrus and stone fruit flavors are nicely complemented by judicious use of oak, a racy acid line and a finish that is long and zesty.
Rating: 92+
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Adelaide refers to the diverse super zone in South Australia containing the Mount Lofty Ranges Zone (Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains and Clare Valley), Fleurieu Zone (Currency Creek, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, and Southern Fleurieu) and Barossa Zone (Barossa Valley and Eden Valley).
The Adelaide Hills region is distinguished and beautiful, offering a cool respite in the summer for Adelaide city dwellers. With vineyards planted fairly high in elevation at 1,500 to 1,800 feet, it is known for particularly fine, citrus-driven Sauvignon Blanc.
The Adelaide Plains is a hot region northwest of the Adelaide Hills that produces approachable, value-driven wines.