RockBare Chardonnay 2004
-
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
"Strong from start to finish, this wine meanders through the palate spectrum dispensing flavour along the way, similar to Santa throwing lollies at a Christmas Pageant." Free of the false, disguising flavors of dumb oak, the delightful hotchpotch of orchard fruits show their ripe, eclectic combination unhindered." Packed full of oranges, loquat, pear, and a rich glycerol coating, the mid-palate is completely rounded out, while the finish is all concise citrus, mineral and steel."""
"My quest to make the most fruit driven and complex Chardonnay possible continues in 2004." Gradually over the years I have been easing off the oak on the RockBare Chardonnay until this year I decided to use none at all." This keeps in step with my philosophy of showcasing the purity and complexity of Chardonnay fruit, which I felt was not being enhanced by small amounts of oak." For me, this wine is an absolute ripper." It is loaded with powerful fruit and has a level of flavour complexity that makes me very proud for it to carry the RockBare banner."
Professional Ratings
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Other Vintages
2007-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
Tim gained extensive winemaking experience working at Southcorp, where he was responsible for making one of Australia's most expensive premium Chardonnays, Yattarna. But when Tim created the RockBare label in 2000, he decided to incorporate winemaking techniques that go back a hundred years or more. Using a minimal-filtering or no-filtering approach and very little oak aging, Tim makes wines with complex flavors driven by the fruit.
McLaren Vale has a moderate, Mediterranean-style climate that's ideal for growing super-high quality grapes. Spring and summer days are warm and dry. Nights are cool and breezy. Only slightly above sea level, the vale is characterized by beautiful, rolling hills with deep, rich alluvial soils that tend to be brown and red clays. Since Tim works with a wide array of grape growers, some of the grapes come from old vines and some from new. But all are highly characteristic of the grapes that produce the bright, flavorful and aromatic wines for which McLaren Vale is famous.
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.
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.