Estate Chardonnay vertical tasting: 2019, 2018, 2016, 2011, 2008, 2006 (6 bottle mix pack)

Dear UMAMU family, We are excited to curate a new vertical 6 Chardonnay pack for you to take a journey with from UMAMU. I love tasting different vintages of the same block and this is your opportunity to try six vintages of Chardonnay from the same parcel in our Margaret River vineyard. Vertical tastings are one of my greatest greatest pleasures in the world of wine. Our philosophy at UMAMU Estate is to release our Margaret River wines when they are ready. This means they have had time to develop and 'balance up' in the bottle so there are no screaming parts. Each vintage in the Margaret River wine region, can be a different tasting experience – due to degree days (warmth accumulated over the season), acidity, alcohol content, weather, rain, disease risk, harvest dates and so much more. We strive to make each vintage as balanced as possible and show its best, means we can appreciate the incredible and diverse bounty of flavours, side-by-side, in a vertical tasting. So please embrace and enjoy tasting six vintages of our Chardonnay from the same parcel in our vineyard in Margaret River. We are blessed with plenty of natural acidity which enable our wine to evolve well. Our line up is 2019 our current release, with the 2018, 2016, 2011, 2008 and 2006 from our museum cellar. Our youngest is 2019 with seven years and is drinking so young and fresh you wouldn't guess it as 2019. Similarly with the museum vintages, of course you wouldn't expect them to all be fresh for 10+ year old wines but they are much fresher than we expected. One common theme was we couldn't pick that the wines were the age they were, they showed much more youthful. That is why we like to track our wines and release when we feel they are ready and keep tracking them as they develop and then curate vertical packs for you. As Colin says, "I think so much of modern winemaking, just like modern life is in a hurry. And this vertical is just so beautifully timed that, you know, we've got a 2011, I think it's just hitting its straps. And I think that's so lovely. My motto is not to rush." Indeed this vertical pack has married with the motto. Join Vineyard Guru Colin and I taste through the six wines among the jarrah trees. Here are notes of each wine with a video of us tasting through the wines below. Note 2005 is considered the benchmark average temperate weather year. So I make reference to warmer or cooler in relation to 2005. 2019 Vintage A cooler than average year in Margaret River, wine is fresh with a young tight expression, and developing. It has moved into a spectrum we like, drinking well now, the wine will continue to open up over the next few years. Well suited to clean, salty dishes like oysters, buttered marron. Appearance: Pale colour, bright and youthful. Aroma: Fresh and clean. Palate: Tight, coiled structure, lean with strong length and acid length. 2018 Vintage A warmer than average year in Margaret River, the wine still youthful has generous expression, nice balance between richness and freshness. Appearance: Light colour with slight green hue. Aroma: More open and expressive, stone fruit ripeness. Palate: Richer and broader, long palate, balanced by a lovely acid track right through to the back with generous mouthfeel. 2016 Vintage Balanced and refined vintage, a nice easy round year, perfect to ripen fruit in the vineyard with no fuss. Sits between 2019 and 2018. Wine with a little more finesse and matches well with roast chicken. Appearance: Vibrant with slight yellowness over green. Aroma: We got some quince and pear. Palate: Creamy and full with a nice bit of saltiness with really good acidity. 2011 Vintage Second warmest vintage we have had in twenty years. Wine is generous and warm, would match with a creamy dish or a curry. We can’t believe it is a 15yo wine. We just want to drink the whole bottle. Appearance: Not golden. Aroma: Pear quince notes. Developed but fresh. Palate: Holding together beautifully, drinking fantastic, easy to drink. Generous acidity and cuddly with good structure. 2008 Vintage Slightly warmer vintage. So I had to include this one because it is my all-time favourite. So why, Charmaine? “Because it's rich, because it's full, I like the taste and like drinking it, because I feel... Like I always think the SSB05, is like it is giving me a hug. It's like an old friend.” “It's so easy that you can catch up. No awkwardness. I know what I'm getting. That's right. And you've held in with me all this way. That's right. And it just makes you happy. Yeah. Well, that's an old friend. Yep. Yep. You know, no questions asked. Yep. So cheers to that. And it's my old friend who's cooking us roast chicken. The wine is a testament to the vineyard and the winemaking.” Appearance: Rich golden tone. Aroma: Layered, developing secondary notes, still fruit-driven. Palate: Richness and fullness comes through. The acid's what is a great surprise because, you know, you get into this realm now and you're thinking, okay, I'm 18 years old. I don't expect to find that freshness. That's still kind of put together structure. I don't feel like it's just gone opened up. It's not flabby at all. It's still very linear. Put together, structural, there's a line through your palate. It's still carrying right through and it's got good length. There's some secondaries that are starting to form, but predominantly they're in the background and, you know, it's still like it's a fresh wine. And, you know, it's a good secondary. Still fruit driven, fresh wine, which, wow. 20-Year-Old Vintage 2006 Chardonnay Coolest vintage Margaret River has seen ever. The wine is exceptional with a nice character, so much to share for a twenty old wine and gets better after being opened. Rings Burgundy, such a treasure. Appearance: Surprisingly fresh. Less golden than expected! Aroma: Complex development. Palate: Yummy, fresh and so well put together. Fruit is not in poll position anymore, with other lovely things coming in, with good mid palate depth. Cheers Charmaine & Colin