Noel Young Christmas Wine Tasting - Whites

Tasted a whole lot of white wine from Noel Young Wines during their annual Christmas tasting. The following wines stood out among the rest, all getting an A- or were somehow remarkable or memorable. These are in no particular order. Notes are necessarily brief, had lots of wine to go through in a relatively short amount of time. Prices indicated are retail to Noel Young.


Au Bon Climat Chardonnay 08. Santa Barbara, California. £19.50

Nice acidity, lemon and citrus, nice astringency too. Full, still retaining good fruit focus. Lingers a while too. Good stuff.



Saint Clair 'Omaka' Reserve Chardonnay 09. Marlborough. £13.95

Somewhat developed nose, toast and barrel, even lees contact? Quite complex. Plenty of fruits still; all balanced by good acidity and fruits. Buttery, not completely dry. Delicious.

Saint Clair Riesling 10. Marlborough. £10.75

Doesnt smell like Riesling, lacking the petrol / kerosene notes. Plenty of tropical fruits, lychee, lemon on the palate. Not completely dry again, nice fatness to it. Easy to drink.


Ca dei Frati Lugana 'I Frati' 09. Italy. £14.99

Clean, fresh wine but with so much going on; plenty of white fruits, tropical. Lively, bursting with fruits, generous and expressive. Nice length to round it off. Really gorgeous, can't believe I've never had this before.



Tabali Reserve Viognier 10. Chile. £8.49

Fresh, plenty of white fruits. Quite floral, doesnt have the bitterness that you normally associate with bad Viognier. Good for the price.

Bodegas Naia 'Naiades' 07. Spain. £20.75

Grown up wine in style and age (pre phylloxera vines). Complexity, white fruits and citrus still there, but theres an extra layered, buttery complexity (could be the oak talking), but its all integrated and together. A serious wine to ponder.