2005, India, Chateau Indage Estate, Chantilli Chardonnay

Name: Chateau Indage Estate Vineyards, Chantilli
Country: India
Grape(s): Chardonnay, (IWSC – Bronze Award, 1995)
Vintage: 2005
Colour: a pretty golden colour.
Smell: I have to admit the first aromas didn’t speak volumes to me, but then that was me. The aromas were earthy and musky with notes of lemons and also a marginal smokiness to it as well. Wilma picked up a more medicinal scent – sort of like the smell of a band aid. I was confused – put it that way. With the aroma not being a particular favourite of mine I was hoping the taste would take this wine out of the attic.
Taste: This was a off dry, low acidic light bodied flavour. Its flavour spoke volumes of honey blossoms with a green apple hint. There again was that cough mixture tendency. The length was reasonable.

Conclusion: I struggled with rating this wine as it was the first chardonnay I had tried from India and I didn’t want this to reflect badly. I would say this was an OK wine.

WINDEX: 3 out of 10.


Final Comments: Well first impressions from India were not good. I was quite disappointed as I was so impressed with the merlot that came from the same vineyard. In some ways it reminded me of watered down of apple juice. However, it wasn’t disgusting and if you like the earthy, musky type wine flavours you may enjoy this better than I did. Again this all comes down to personal preferences, cos that is what wine drinking is all about.

Jordan - Grands Vin de Jordan - Machareus Region, Madaba, Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc 2003

Name: Grandes vins de Jordanie
Country: Jordan – Machareus region, Zumot Vineyard of Madaba
Notes: A jordan wine which is situated on one of the best lands in this area.
Grape(s): Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2003
Colour: Light golden lemon colour
Smell: A light earthy aroma which is a strong indication of the chardonnay grape in this blend. The scent is not very pronounced. You do really have to sniff this drink to pull in the aromas. I was expecting more heavier aromas given that it was 5 years old
Taste: An off dry mild grapefruit flavour, light in intensity – The length of the drink was also quite short. A nice taste which was quite distinct from its aromas.
Conclusion: This was a acceptable wine.
WINEDEX: 7 out of 10
Final comments: This was my first Jordanian wine I had ever tried. My initial thoughts were that this was going to taste vile. Jordan is not exactly famed for wine. However, I have to say that I was quietly impressed. Given that it was already 5 years old I was expecting stronger more intense flavours but not at all it had a short length and really tasted like it was only a few years old…if that. It held all the characteristics of a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc. It was unpleasant at all and really held its own. I would buy this again and I would serve this up to folk at a dinner party because of its blend it would smell and taste great for both Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc drinkers. I saw on the Zumot website that they have a red which is a blend of pinot noir and Cabernet sauvignon so I look forward to drinking that one.