An “Exceptional” Chardonnay
Thursday, August 26 2010 by ROV USA
(September, 2010) BevX.com is celebrating Robert Oatley’s 2008 Chardonnay as Beverage of the Week!
“Last year we introduced BevX readers to the great wines from Robert Oatley. We are happy to report that the next vintage hasn’t missed a beat.
“While this label is rather new, Oatley is hardly a newcomer to Australian wines. Bob Oatley formerly owned the now famous Rosemount Estate for decades establishing it as leader from Australia. His Chardonnays became the benchmark for the nation if not the New World. With Rosemount Oatley helped established Shiraz as an ultra popular wine varietal. In his current project Oatley has assembled an all-star team that includes his eldest son Sandy, Chris Hancock, a winemaking genius who has worked with Oatley for more than 30 years as has Viticulturalist Sam Hayne.
“The Oatley wines represent the new and coming face of Australian wine. Their wines focus on balance and complexity with relatively low alcohols and great balancing acidity. These are tremendous food wines that have wide appeal with the established wine lover and the novice as well. They are all smartly finished with a screw-cap closure that ensures that you will experience the wine just as the experienced winemaking team has intended.
“The Robert Oatley Chardonnay has recently caught our eye and palate. When we first saw that this Chardonnay was bottled at just 12.2% alcohol by volume we believed this to be a printing error. Once we opened it and discovered the joys of this lighter bodied Chardonnay we knew that we had found something unique. Whilst light in alcohol it is not light on flavor delivering a complex and ultra-balanced Chardonnay that makes this wine the perfect choice for the dinner table. If you have grown weary of massive 15%-plus alcohol whites give this a wine a go and rediscover refreshment
Four out of five stars: Exceptional
Tasting Notes:
“Pale straw color. The nose is wonderfully fresh with scents of crisp, baking apples with an abundant dose of citrus juice and zest and hints of oak aging. The palate echoes the nose confirming the promised refreshment. It is lighter in body than you might expect but rich on complexity with crisp orchard fruit notes being complimented ideally by citrus and silky oak accents. If you have given up on Chardonnay at the dinner table, not so fast.”
(August 26, 2010) Fred Tasker, 
(August 16, 2010) Nick Passmore used his inaugural 

(August 3, 2010) In the
(July 21, 2010) Stephen Tanzer, writing in the
(July 20, 2010) Robert Oatley Vineyards 

Almost overnight, Bob Oatley’s wines became ‘The Taste of Australia,’ and the style that defined a continent. With his Chardonnay in Europe and followed by his Shiraz in the US, Bob Oatley created the original ‘Aussie Style’ and an international following for Australian wine. By 1983, boosted by a Double Gold Medal at the 1982 London International Wine & Spirit Competition, all of England was talking about – and drinking – Rosemount Chardonnay. Oz Clarke, writing in New Classic Wines of the World said “I remember when Rosemount Show Reserve 1980 hit the British shops, with its honeyed spice, its brazil nuts cream, its whiff of toasty smoke and an almost syrupy texture. Chardonnay was never going to be the same again.”
1946 – Before the age of 20, Bob Oatley gains experience in trading for Colyer Watson, a coffee trading company with operations in Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea.
(July 7, 2010) Wine Blogger Ben Carter, writing on Benito’s Wine Reviews, 