Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2018

James Suckling Top 100 Wines of the World 2020
James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020
James Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2020

Giaconda, founded in 1982 by Rick Kinzbrunner, is one of the country’s great wine producers. The star of the show is the chardonnay, one of Australia’s greatest chardonnays, one of Australia's great wine treasures and Australia’s first real Grand Cru white wine.

"It's so difficult to avoid comparisons with Montrachet, except to say both have profoundly deep and long palates. Of course, there's high-quality French oak and the requisite acidity to freshen the finish, but the ultimate quality lies in the freakish length of the wine."  James Halliday

"Straw gold; exhibits intense characters of white peach, hazelnut, matchstick, lime blossom and subtle notes of tangelo rind. A powerful impact on the palate with endless depth as you peel back the layers; funky reduction then a creamy textured element followed by mineral notes of wet river pebbles. Multilayered, fresh and elegant with tremendous persistence that finishes with strong mineral aromatics. The sheer audacity of this wine is awe inspiring, it drills a hole through your palate, taking no prisoners, it's on a mission to fly the banner for grand old-world chardonnays that have poise and sophistication."  Giaconda

Erin Larkin reviews the 2018 Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay (5:45 into the video)

Expert reviews

"It's so difficult to avoid comparisons with Montrachet, except to say both have profoundly deep and long palates. Of course, there's high-quality French oak and the requisite acidity to freshen the finish, but the ultimate quality lies in the freakish length of the wine. Drink by 2038."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 99 points and Top 100 Wines of 2020 and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"This has such richness and complexity from the outset. Kinzbrunner is flexing all the muscle in this 2018 chardonnay. The nose is wildly complex with flint, wet stones and lemon and grapefruit pith. Peach and praline notes, too. This is so, so complex. The palate has a plush, smooth-honed texture and delivers a full, textural takeover with intense peaches, mangoes and peach custard and a smooth, deep finish. This is exceptional. Drink or hold. Screw cap."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 98 points and Top 100 Wines of the World 2020 and Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020 

"The 2018 on the nose is really restrained, so I'm only getting kind of hints and glimpses of all of those little characters that I love so much with Giaconda. But in the mouth it's a completely different story. It kind of like explodes, like a sonic boom. Shards and shrapnel of flavour hits you cheeks, in the back of your throat and it sticks in your mouth. This is so flavoursome it's almost unbelievable. So where we have this balanced but loud outlay of perfume and flavour in the 2019, in the 2018 you have a very, very restrained aromatic profile and unbelievable power and density of fruit in the mouth. It almost billows, it still has that same racy type mineral acid line and it's pure in its way. Driven across the palate are really exciting quite salty sort of crushed nuts and again that preserved lemon character. It's thrilling and after much thinking yesterday and toing and froing, this was my favourite by a squish."  Erin Larkin   

"Bright, light to medium yellow colour, with a complex, well-worked bouquet displaying nougat (toasted almond and honey), smoked chicken, and a multitude of other aromas. These all translate to the palate, which is full-bodied and rich, but not forward or over-built in any way. There's a generous component of matchstick sulfides as well as classy oak. It has great concentration and persistence, is packed with flavour and entertains to the last drop. There is a sweetness and richness that comes not from residual sugar but sheer concentration of ripe fruit flavour. Drink: 2020-2033."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 97 points

"One of the greats in top form – complex, smoky and nutty, this is chardonnay on a grand and impressive scale. Sublimely classic and complex nose of struck flint, matchstick, roasted hazelnuts, white peach and nectarine, with grapefruit, citrus curd and a lacing of white florals. It’s the kind of wine that makes Burgundy drinkers think of top Burgundy, with as much smoky gunflinty complexity as there is a wall of perfectly ripe but restrained fruit. So much going on here, but with poise in equal parts. There’s an underlining elegance and measure to it and nothing is forced or overdone, fine-boned acid and texture adding to the sheer commanding grandeur of the whole thing. Impressive stuff."  Young Gun of Wine

"A whole heap of struck match, dropped into melting butter. It’s slippery and powerful, lime and fresh cut pineapple acidity, oatmeal, ginger and cinnamon, peppermint and white chocolate, pear skin and chalk, feels very wet and very dry at once, citrus zest and oak spice, pancakes with peaches, grip and crunch and smoke on a very long finish. Almost painful in its intensity and volume, so much so, the neighbours can probably hear me drinking it. Yet, still, undeniable quality in the glass here. En grade. Drink: 2021-2030."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 96 points

Awards

James Suckling Top 100 Wines of the World 2020
James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020
James Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2020
Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion  ★ 

About the winery

"Giaconda vineyard was established by Rick Kinzbrunner, a mechanical engineer who became interested in wine in the early 1970's. Rick then spent the next ten years working in the industry, travelling and following his passion for wine. After a brief stint in New Zealand, he studied at Davis University in California and worked at some of the most respected wineries in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys (namely Stag's Leap, Simi and Matanzas Creek). In Europe he worked for the Moueix group in Bordeaux, co-owner of the fabled Chateau Petrus.

After returning to Australia in 1980 to take up a position as assistant winemaker at Brown Brothers in Milawa, Rick purchased land in the nearby Beechworth wine region - at the foothills of the beautiful North-East Victorian Alps. Planting commenced in 1982 and the property is now devoted solely to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. A separate planting of Nebbiolo has also been established close to the Beechworth township at Red Hill. Total area under vines at the Giaconda Estate Vineyard is now 4 hectares. Annual wine production is approximately 2,500 dozen bottles.

The Vineyards

Our Estate vineyard is managed sustainability and carefully according to environmental consciousness. Since 2018 we are now fully certified organic by the Bio Dynamic Research Institute (BDRI). The Australian Demeter Bio-Dynamic Method is a world leader in practices of ecological and sustainable farming.

At an altitude of 400+ metres (1,312 feet) the site and climate are influenced by the surrounding alpine valleys. The Chardonnay is planted on a relatively cool south-facing slope which is sheltered from the direct impact of the sun's rays. This results in a much slower ripening period, greater flavour complexity and natural acid levels. The Estate lies in a small valley which benefits from a light breeze much of the time; this is very effective in controlling disease.

Our Estate Vineyard Shiraz is planted on the amphitheatre block at the top of the property with a warm north-facing exposure. Warner Vineyard Shiraz is grown on a slightly higher elevation, 6.5km from the Beechworth township on ancient granite soils typical of the general area. These vines are also planted on a warm north-facing exposure.

The soil is 450 million year old granitic loam over decomposed gravel and clay. The clay is important in allowing sustained water-release to the vine roots; while the soil, being not too rich, is ideal for wine quality - lower yields are naturally regulated. The vines are drip irrigated in hotter years only when it is necessary to prevent vine stress.

The average rainfall is 800 mm annually, a little of which can be received during summer. Nights are generally cool with days being fairly warm, providing ideal conditions for slow ripening. Vintage begins in late February or early March, depending on the season. All grapes are hand-picked in the cool of the early morning before being processing at the winery on site. Cropping levels are approximately 2.5 tonnes per acre.

The Wine Making

Wine making should be subtle and always seek balance - this should never seek to dominate the Terroir or characteristics of any given vintage. Giaconda wines are hand-crafted according to basically a natural wine making process. To us this means indigenous yeasts are employed for fermentation, natural bacteria for Malolactic fermentation, French oak barrel ageing, minimal sulphur additions, and no filtration before bottling.

The winery, barrel maturation cave and bottling facility are all set up for gravity flow. This means the wines are very rarely pumped or manipulated mechanically. Instead they are gently moved by gravity or gas pressure during the entire wine making process.

In the case of Chardonnay, our fruit is hand picked, lightly crushed and then basket pressed - before being transferred to French oak barrels (approximately 30% new) for fermentation and ageing.

For the red wines, a combination of whole bunch and de-stemmed crushed fruit is transferred to large concrete tanks for fermentation. These wines remain on skins for an extended period to develop softer, finer tannins and more complexity; before being basket pressed and transferred to French oak barrels (up to 40% new in some cases) for ageing.

Our wines are aged in French oak for almost two years - deep underground in the granite maturation cave, which can be seen below. This cave offers optimal conditions for fermentation and ageing with a stable temperature of 16 degrees centigrade and naturally high humidity all year round."  Giaconda