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2018 Vanguardist Chardonnay

2018 Vanguardist Chardonnay

Adelaide Hills, SA

Austere, structured, detailed yet thrilling Hills Chardonnay from Michael Corbett.

$50.00
About
More intellectual than visceral, but very good.

Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

About The Wine

This is an exquisite example of a leaner modern style of Australian Chardonnay.

Winemaker Michael Corbett has sought out a site in the Adelaide Hills that can produce a taut, mineral-charged example of Chardonnay with plenty of flavour.

Where some Chardonnays picked early like this lack flavour and complexity, this has both in spades.

If you like your Chardonnay in a more lithe frame, this will be right up your alley.

Only 170 dozen made.

About Vanguardist

Vanguardist is an up and coming producer from McLaren Vale started by three friends after many long nights in Hawkes Bay talking about their shared love of wine.

Their mission is to bring premium, authentic, small-batch wines to a market they see as crowded by "overly commercialised wines produced by corporates who take up all the elbow room."

They source very high-quality fruit from great vineyards across South Australia, looking to build wines with texture and vibrancy.

With experienced winemaker Michael Corbett at the helm, the future looks bright for this plucky challenger brand.

Winemaker Michael Corbett
Winemaker Michael Corbett
Photo Credit: Brad Fleet
Additional Info

From The Producer

Hand harvesting and subsequent foot crushing in the vineyard continues to be one of our favourite techniques. This ‘controlled skin contact’ happens before your eyes in the picking bins.

It requires the fruit to be in near perfect condition as there is nowhere to hide, without the use of sulphur or other preservatives at this stage.

The juice will undoubtedly brown due to all of the exposure to air, but during this phase there is a real build-up of phenolics, all the good flavour and tannin molecules. After around 6 hours the fruit was “whole bunch pressed” to tank and then rough racked after about 12 hours. The juice was allowed to start a natural ferment in tank before being transferred to a combination of 22HL Slavonian Oak foudre, and old barriques. The wine underwent elevage on full lees in oak for around eleven months prior to racking and going to bottle without fining or filtration.

Blend : Chardonnay (100%)
Closure : Cork
Drink Until : 2027
Bottle Size : 750ml
Production : 170 dozen

Michael Corbett
Michael Corbett
Photo Credit: Daniel Purvis
Expert Reviews

Critic Reviews

93Points
The Wine Front

"Lemon, spice, fennel, lemon zest. This is tight, lean and ripe lemony, firm flinty texture, a lot of nerve and energy, but with a gentle creaminess to offset. Length is very good, all lemon rind, ginger and nuts. More intellectual than visceral, but very good. Better again with a year or two in bottle." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews
Delivery

Delivery is Free for any order over $149 or more, or just $10 for any orders of $149 or less. There is no minimum order quantity and you can mix and match as much as you like. Make your perfect mix pack!

Estimated delivery time frames with Australia Post can be viewed here. Please include Authority to Leave instructions in the ‘SPECIAL REQUESTS’ box during checkout if you may not be available to sign for your delivery and would like it left at your front door. The 'SPECIAL REQUESTS' box can be found on the cart page before the final checkout page.

Warehouse Pickup is also available for Sydney customers, 10am-5pm Monday to Friday. To select Warehouse Pickup as your shipping method enter our address "F5A, 42 Wattle St, Ultimo, 2007" as your shipping address during checkout.Your order will be packed and ready within 2 hours. Please complete your purchase online before visiting us as we are not licensed to sell over the counter.

Express Same Day Delivery is available for Sydney postcodes within 10km of the CBD. There is a $10 delivery surcharge and the order is needs to be placed before 12pm midday weekdays for same day delivery. Express courier deliveries cannot be left unattended and require a receiver signature.

Our Heat Policy can be viewed here. If you would like us to hold dispatch of your order for milder weather please leave instructions to do so in the 'SPECIAL REQUESTS' box found on the cart page before the final checkout. We are happy to hold it for as long as you like. All orders are fully insured so you can buy with full confidence that these tasty beverages will get to you in tip-top shape.

Returns are free for 100 days after purchase. You can view the conditions of our return policy here

For any other shipping related inquiries, please see our helpful FAQ, email us at hello@differentdrop.com or call us on 1300 668 385..

FaQs
Do I have to order in dozens?

No, please mix it up! You can order wines in any quantity and variation you like. You can order 1 bottle or 50. We challenge you to make the ultimate mixed pack of wine!

Are there volume discounts?

No our pricing is aiming to the best in the market already. For very large orders (weddings etc) we are open to negotiating though. Just give us a call. How does the price match work?

Everyday Low & Consistent Pricing is something we strongly believe in. We want our customers to feel confident they are always getting the best price. If you see a price lower somewhere else let us know and we'll match it. We'll even retrospectively refund you if you have already purchased from us but you see a lower price somewhere later on. Our price match policy can be seen here.

I am trying to add more of a wine to my cart but it won’t let me?

This means we are running low on stock of that wine. So for example, if the website will only allow you to add 3 bottles and no more, then that is all we have of that particular wine. The good news is we may be able to order more for you. Just contact us on 1300 668 385 or hello@differentdrop.com and we'll organise the additional quantity for you.

Does Different Drop have a physical store?

No, not really. More of a warehouse/office. We do however offer a Click & Collect option from our warehouse in Ultimo, Sydney. Our warehouse address for Click & Collect is: F5A, 42 Wattle St, Ultimo, 2007

Can I special order a wine you do not sell?

If it’s doable, then we’ll make it happen. Just contact us directly via phone, chat or email and we’ll find out for you right away. Please note that in most cases special orders such as these will need to be in full case lots (6 or 12 bottles).

More FaQs: here