Greg Norman: A Good, Cheap Australian Chardonnay

I'm ditching the limerick this week for a quickie review because it's related to the post from earlier this week...the poor poetry will return next week.

So, I talked a ton about Australian wine earlier this week in my post on Torbreck Shiraz (and even included my video debut!) and I thought I'd follow up that post with a review on a surprisingly solid Chardonnay from a big producer that I didn't expect to be good -- Greg Norman from the Eden Valley.

Eden Valley is about 1.5 hours from Adelaide in South Australia. It's adjacent to the famous Barossa Valley, which is known mainly for its Shiraz (Torbreck is here, BTW). Eden Valley, although less well known, was actually planted in 1842, the same year as the Barossa. The main difference: Eden is far from its name -- the Barossa is closer to perfection, for certain!

Located at higher altitude and with really bad and varied soil, which is great for viticulture, Eden Valley is much, much cooler than the Barossa. It's perfect for Riesling and Chardonnay (although further north in the valley it's hotter so quality Shiraz and Cabernet producers are here too, including Henschke, which makes the famous Hill of Grace). Here, the growing season is cooler and longer than Barossa, so mouth-stinging acid can develop alongside the fruit flavors in the grape, creating luscious dry Riesling and ripe yet balanced Chardonnay.

The biggest problem in this Valley, and why it hasn't enjoyed the recognition that the Barossa has had, is that with lots of different soil types, choosing the right kind of grape to grow is really hard -- this area isn't for the faint of heart. And there's less room for error here too -- although near the Barossa, this Valley is less developed, and it's lack of access to irrigation and extremely windy conditions mean lower crop yields and less finished wine. That's probably a good thing-- now and in the future we'll have fewer but better wines and those producers who do stick it out will make Eden Valley a consistent place for quality.

So onto the bottle in question...I must admit that I never thought that my $12 cheapy of a wine, the Greg Norman Eden Valley Chardonnay would be any good. I know that's mean, but as I said in the last post, my experience has been that below $20 you're S.O.L. in Australia. I have liked some of the pro-golfer's line before, but I usually find Australian Chard to be big, oaky, and overblown.

Not so on this one.

To prove an exception to my own rule that you need be buying Aussie wine above $20, here's a quick review...

The Wine: Greg Norman Chardonnay
Where It's From: Eden Valley, Australia
The Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Price: $11.99

Color: A nice dark hay color, but not as golden as most Australian Chardonnays. The lighter hue had the hamster turning the wheel in my head. Could this be a non-traditional Aussie Chard? Something I could deal with? A non-oak bomb? I was feeling hopeful when I bought it and saw that it was from Eden Valley. The color allowed me to maintain optimism.

Smell: The pleasant surprise continued. Rather than big oak, I got citrus notes with just a little bit of light caramel (which is from the oak). I've rarely had an Aussie Chard that's restrained, but this smelled more like an Asian pear and minerals, with a touch of melon and light oaky vanilla rather than a 2 by 4 plank, overripe apple, and pineapple, which is what I would expect.

Taste: For a $12 bottle of Chardonnay, I give Greg Norman props. The fruit, oak, and acid were in balance. You could taste a great wet stone flavor in the wine and those melon, lime, and pear flavors were prominent but not overblown. Albeit a little too much caramel and vanilla bean for me (too much oak), the strong acid and the wine's lower levels of alcohol (only 12.5% as opposed to 14%, which many Napa and Aussie Chards have) provided balance.

Food: This is challenging. It's a little big for delicate foods. I had it with pasta primavera and thought it tasted overly alcoholic. I would have liked this with halibut or some richer white fish, and think it would be a great match with a stronger chicken dish or roast turkey.

Drink or Down the Sink?: I would drink this again. It was so much better than what I thought it would be! If you have a friend/spouse/family member (not dog -- dogs can die from grape and wine consumption, FYI!) that loves oak and you hate it, this is your compromise wine! And for $12, that's pretty fab.