The Lucky Country Chardonnay 2011
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Wine Spectator
Lively, juicy and appealing for its bright grapefruit and pear flavors, dancing into a refined finish. Drink now.
Since then it has become a descriptive label for Australia and its wealth of natural resources, beautiful weather, stunning landscapes and relaxed lifestyle. It is the same slice of fortune that allows the fertile soils of Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale to yield such lush, vibrant fruit from which The Lucky Country is made.
By contrast, Lucky Country Shiraz is made in a simple, natural fashion, with individual parcels of fruit fermented, pressed and barreled separately until blending just prior to bottling. Minimally fined and unfiltered, the wine starts out layered and concentrated, then reveals a much softer side on the finish.
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.
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.