1998 Howard Park Chardonnay Tasting Notes

1998 vintage was divided into several distinct stages. The period from mid February to early March was dry and warm while the rest of March was cool and wet with difficult conditions followed by a good April.
The Chardonnay picked early in March was clean with good flavour development whereas the later picked Chardonnay suffered from the inclement weather. 

The 1998 Howard Park Chardonnay was sourced therefore from early maturing vineyards in the Great Southern and Margaret River Regions of Western Australia. The fruit was of lower sugar ripeness than previous years but showed full flavour development leading to what we think is a more balanced wine of lower alcohol influence and fresher flavours 

The fruit from each sourced vineyard was fermented separately in French Oak barriques and allowed to sit on fermentation lees for twelve months developing complex textural components from the oak/lees interaction. The final blend was put together according to the marriage of flavours to achieve the desired style.

The 1998 Howard Park Chardonnay is a perfect example of a complex chardonnay with hints of bottle age, yet austereness of youth. The palate is enriched and complex in aromatics and flavours while still having the freshness and vitality of a young wine. 

The colour has lost the initial green hues giving way to straw yellow, the nose is very fresh and lively with powerful but elegant honeydew melon and cashew like nuttiness. The palate shows lots of mouth-filling fruit with crisp acidity providing freshness and a creamy texture. This winehas aging very well and has ample freshness suggesting that it is only now beginning to show its character. 

On release, the Australian national magazine "Winestate" awarded this wine the highest possible rating of 5 stars.