Vasse Felix
2004 Margaret River
Chardonnay, about $15
(Imported by Negociants, USA, Napa, Calif.)
Tasting wine blind – that is, without knowing what it is – is a great way to make a fool of yourself. But it’s also a terrific way to taste a wine without being swayed by what the package looks like, who made it and where it’s from. For instance, I might have never discovered Vasse Felix’s 2004 Chardonnay if someone hadn’t handed me a glass and said, “Guess what this is.”
I could have wandered off to find an Austrian grüner veltliner or some other obscurity, wine geek that I am. Instead, I tasted from the glass and wasn’t disappointed.
Free from the heavy vanilla-butter brickle tones so often found in heavily oaked chardonnay, this one shines with the flavor of the grape, crisp as a cold Granny Smith apple, and firm with the cool mineral tones often found in chardonnay grown in cool climates like Australia’s Margaret River.
It’s so crisp and minerally that I guessed it was a modern French chablis. The foolishness I felt when it was revealed that I was an entire hemisphere off was offset by the joy of finding something so good that costs just $15.
– Tara Q. Thomas
