We don't like to toot our own horn much at Montalto, but even we were impressed after reading My Wine Guy Simon Green's review of our talented winemaker Simon Black's2016 Montalto Estate Chardonnay.
Read My Wine Guy's thoughts on our multi-award winning wine below:
Knocking down the likes of Giaconda, Sorrenberg, Oakridge, Ten Minutes by Tractor, Giant Steps, Hoddles Creek & By Farr in a battle of all the greatest Victorian Chardonnay's is a claim that very few wineries, if any, could ever make.
That the 2016 Montalto Estate Chardonnay did exactly that, while riding away to an emphatic victory in a recent super-panel tasting from Gourmet Traveller Wine, is a remarkable achievement and one that cannot be easily underestimated.
Assembled were some of the greatest, and most established names in Australian Chardonnay - royalty in fact - put together for a blind tasting with 5 highly esteemed industry veterans. 50+ wines were on show, and yet the Montalto, with its fairly humble price tag in comparison, put them all to the sword.
It is no wonder why, as the Montalto is sleek, racy and brisk, with lively chalkiness, a hint of sulphide funk and a gloriously long etched afterglow. It is the kind of wine that personifies the new personality of great Chardonnay. Move over Grand Cru and Premier Cru Burgundy, this is what we want, and we don't need to travel all that far to get it.
Montalto, like this particular Chardonnay, has been on an absolute tearer of a run lately. With new investments in the winery, winemaking, viticulture and vineyards taking shape, and the forthright hand on the tiller of extraordinary winemaker Simon Black, things are starting to look up, down south.
A couple of decades ago, it was big, ripe and powerful Chardonnay styles that put the Mornington on the map, but now, with wines like this one, it will be a new generation of winemakers who reinvigorate what it truly means to be a Victorian (and Australian) Chardonnay.
They certainly don't make gallons of this stuff, and of what they do release to market, it is very carefully trickled out. Allocations are tight, and the stock limited, so if you want to try the absolute ultimate in modern, racy Australian Chardonnay that has bested all-comers, then don't go any further than a few bottles of the impeccable 2016 Montalto Estate Chardonnay.
Our 2016 Montalto Estate Chardonnay has received many accolades from the wine industry, with notable figures giving significant scores, such as James Halliday (96 points), Huon Hooke (95 points) and Mike Bennie (94 points).
Add to this that the 2016 Montalto Estate Chardonnay was also recently awarded97 points and ranked #1 in Gourmet Traveller's Wine Tasting of Victorian Chardonnay, and you can see why we're pretty stoked to have this quiet achiever in the Montalto family.
