JM 1ST APPROACH

Clonale has hit the big time! Auditioned next to Pierro Chardonnay 09 for inclusion this week and Clonale got the gig – it’s a better wine! Ooh, aah! Ricocheting with grapefruit, fig and persimmon exoticity, nuanced with smoked ham, pulling into a clean-crafted finish. Rating: 94 points Tyson Tselzer

Vibrant pale straw colour with a tinge of green. Subtle aromas of grapefruit, white peach, and orange blossom. Grapefruit mingling with lemon barley, brioche, and honeydew melon flavours. The palate mixes a thickness of texture with crisp acidity. Lemon zest, nectarine and a distinctly savory, almost salty cracker, type of flavour. There's plenty of things to like here, it's not too austere, oak is subtle and toned down, it's mid-weight yet of full flavour and there's a long tight flinty finish. Wheaty complexity too. . This is a lovely drinking wine. Rated : 93 Points Winefront.com.au

... Flesh and power. No argument, no discussion, this is a fabulous wine, everyone will agree. Peach, pear, citrus, flashes of oak spice, controlled matchsticky notes, drive through the finish. ‘Nuff said. 95 points Winefront.com.au
.... while it is more forward than the 2011 (which, incidentally, I had another glass of last week) it certainly benefits from a little air – or a couple of days of tasting/drinking – at the moment. An incisive, flinty and angular Chardonnay. Juicy through the mid-palate with excellent extension on the finish. Love it. Will be buying and cellaring a few bottles. 93+ Very Good – Excellent Winewilleatitself