Beverage of the Week (B.O.W)

Last year we introduced BevX readers to the great wines from Robert Oatley. We are happy to report that the next vintage hasn’t missed a beat.

While this label is rather new, Oatley is hardly a newcomer to Australian wines. Bob Oatley formerly owned the now famous Rosemount Estate for decades establishing it as leader from Australia. His Chardonnays became the benchmark for the nation if not the New World. With Rosemount Oatley helped established Shiraz as an ultra popular wine varietal. In his current project Oatley has assembled an all-star team that includes his eldest son Sandy, Chris Hancock, a winemaking genius who has worked with Oatley for more than 30 years as has Viticulturalist Sam Hayne.

The Oatley wines represent the new and coming face of Australian wine. Their wines focus on balance and complexity with relatively low alcohols and great balancing acidity. These are tremendous food wines that have wide appeal with the established wine lover and the novice as well. They are all smartly finished with a screw-cap closure that ensures that you will experience the wine just as the experienced winemaking team has intended. (See our take on screw-capped wines.)

The Robert Oatley Chardonnay has recently caught our eye and palate. When we first saw that this Chardonnay was bottled at just 12.2% alcohol by volume we believed this to be a printing error. Once we opened it and discovered the joys of this lighter bodied Chardonnay we knew that we had found something unique. Whilst light in alcohol it is not light on flavor delivering a complex and ultra-balanced Chardonnay that makes this wine the perfect choice for the dinner table. If you have grown weary of massive 15%-plus alcohol whites give this a wine a go and rediscover refreshment.