- Nagambie Lakes, VIC - $11-$19
- Screwcap
- 12.5%alc
Australia boasts a range of committed producers who focus on certain 'alternative' varieties with the respect one normally reserves for gemstones, when others might simply pass them off as grapes. Think Yalumba and viognier, Pirramimma and petit verdot, d'Arenberg and grenache, and of course, Tahbilk and marsanne.
Cleanly scented and youthful, Tahbilk's 2010 reveals a pleasing, well defined fragrance for such a young marsanne, which really, one should expect from Australia's specialist maker of the variety. There are notes of stonefruit kernel/almond and gentle spice apparent, giving a vibrant, genuinely varietal edge to its more obvious scent of freshly picked lemons, with a minor trace of mineral residing throughout. By delivering its squeaky clean lemon and stonefruit kernel flavours in a surprisingly sumptuous, practically medium-full bodied sense, the palate also reflects a relatively assertive, character laden expression of a young Tahbilk Marsanne. Thankfully, the finish bares the structure and drive to balance everything out, as the whole package is wrapped up nicely by an agreeable phenolic note and chalky, drying acids, which merge eloquently alongside persisting notes of citrus and stonefruit kernel to drag out a long, brightly lit and assertive finish.
ü+ I'm really liking this Tahbilk Marsanne, which has a real, punchy presence of varietal character backed up by a classically Tahbilk structure. I guess I better make room in the cellar then, to do future Chris a favour. Drink to 2020.
91 points
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