Bass Phillip
Premium Chardonnay
Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
It was interesting to compare this top Australian Chardonnay with the Dry River from New Zealand. A similar age and similar price. Straw yellow plus in colour. The nose is more citric than stone fruit with a note of roasted nuts. On the palate baked lemon with a noticeable saline note. Medium acid. Subtly. different to the Dry River - the Bass Phillip is slightly more fulsome but overall not much in it. I would call it a dead heat at 95 points each. Both are excellent.
It was interesting to compare this top Australian Chardonnay with the Dry River from New Zealand. A similar age and similar price. Straw yellow plus in colour. The nose is more citric than stone fruit with a note of roasted nuts. On the palate baked lemon with a noticeable saline note. Medium acid. Subtly. different to the Dry River - the Bass Phillip is slightly more fulsome but overall not much in it. I would call it a dead heat at 95 points each. Both are excellent.
May 30th, 2021Previous notes apply. Lemon pith on nose with yellow peach, quince and a little funk. Really well made with excellent intensity. Consistent with that sooty note from previous description. A well judged balance of opulent peachy fruit, oak, minerality and natural acidity. An outstanding Chardonnay. Postscript Edit: Only 100 dozen made.
Previous notes apply. Lemon pith on nose with yellow peach, quince and a little funk. Really well made with excellent intensity. Consistent with that sooty note from previous description. A well judged balance of opulent peachy fruit, oak, minerality and natural acidity. An outstanding Chardonnay. Postscript Edit: Only 100 dozen made.
Dec 15th, 2020Mid yellow in colour. Aromas of lemon with yellow peach and a hint of sulphides. A gravelly minerality. On the palate an opulent style - generous in the mouth. Medium to full bodied - never becomes cloying because of Phillip’s penchant for natural acidity. The following night a strange sooty note I took to be sulphidic or oak derived. An impressive old school type Chardonnay. Phillip Jones, a great producer of Pinot Noir, unsurprisingly makes excellent Chardonnay.
Mid yellow in colour. Aromas of lemon with yellow peach and a hint of sulphides. A gravelly minerality. On the palate an opulent style - generous in the mouth. Medium to full bodied - never becomes cloying because of Phillip’s penchant for natural acidity. The following night a strange sooty note I took to be sulphidic or oak derived. An impressive old school type Chardonnay. Phillip Jones, a great producer of Pinot Noir, unsurprisingly makes excellent Chardonnay.
May 15th, 2020