 | Steve Kubota rated this wine as 93/100 with the following review:
BURCH FAMILY WINES
HOWARD PARK, Wines of Western Australia
Howard Park Flint Rock Chardonnay
Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Appellation: 85% Mt. Baker, 15% Porongurup
Vintage: 2013
Alcohol: 13%
Total Acid: 7.0 g/l
pH: 3.2
Sweetness Level: Dry
If you have not heard of Howard Park Wines before you most definitely will very soon. Howard Park is one of a collective of twelve multi-generational family-owned wine producers that comprise Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW.) I tasted three of their wines at an industry tasting promotion showcasing Australia’s First Families of Wine. Howard Park is one of Western Australia’s leading boutique family owned wineries, responsible for brands Howard Park, MadFish and Marchand & Burch. I did not know what to expect or anticipate before trying their wine but I came away floored and a huge fan.
I was very fortunate to meet Amy Burch, the general manager and marketing director at Burch Family Wines. Amy’s love and passion for wine is inherent the moment you meet her. Amy’s energy and enthusiasm is catchy and you are drawn in by her magnetism.
From the Winery:
Howard Park Wines is Western Australia’s largest boutique family-owned winery producing a range of handcrafted fine Australian wines from the state’s premier grape growing regions of Margaret River and the Great Southern.
The Flint Rock Chardonnay is an annual selection from individual vineyard blocks and clones grown on our Mount Baker and Porongurup vineyards. These vineyards are located on both south and north facing ridge-tops with elevations of between 285 to 370 meters (925’ to 1,200’.) The landforms of the region are some of the oldest in the world.
Winemaking:
The individual vineyard blocks that comprise Flint Rock Chardonnay (85% Mt. Baker/15% Porongurup) are vinified separately. Each batch is hand-picked, cooled and sorted before pressing to extract the free run juice. Fermentation and malolactic occurs in a combination of older French oak and stainless steel tank. The temperature of fermentation is between 18ºC to 22ºC and the lees are stirred from the end of fermentation and throughout the malolactic. After 10 months on lees, the wine is blended to tank and held for two-months prior to fining, filtration and bottling
My Tasting Notes:
The Flint Rock Chardonnay was one of the best at the AFFW speed tasting event. This Chardonnay circle high above, elegantly singing richer, fuller flavour notes and all the while soaring effortlessly (good lengthy finish.) The first thing that stands out with this 100% Chardonnay is its generous and pleasing citrus and stone fruit aromas. The wine exhibited excellent balance and felt full and rewarding. This is a Chardonnay you can enjoy with or without food, it’s that good. Very pleasing indeed and at approximately $26 on the BCLB store shelves a genuine bargain. The winery suggests drinking the Flint Rock now and over the next four-years for best enjoyment and pleasure.
Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW):
AFFW together represent seventeen wine-growing regions across Australia and forty-eight generations of winemakers. The inaugural twelve-member alliance includes Brown Brothers, Campbells, Taylors, DeBortoli, McWilliam's, Tahbilk, Tyrell's, Yalumba, D'Arenberg, Jim Barry, Howard Park, and Henschke. Howard Park Wines is the only representative from Western Australia to be included in AFFW.
The aim of Australia's First Families of Wine is to showcase a representative and diverse range of the best of Australian wine with a focus on regional and iconic drops. The collective is working to engage and educate consumers, retailers, restaurants and the wine industry across the globe about the real character and personality of Australian wine, and about the unique characters and personalities behind it.
The main criteria is that the family-owned companies need to have a "landmark wine" in their portfolios as listed under Langton's Classification and/or 75% agreement by group that a wine is considered "iconic". Others are they must have the ability to do at least a 20-year vertical tasting, have a history going back a minimum of two generations, ownership of vineyards more than 50 years old and/or ownership of distinguished sites which exemplify the best of terroir, commitment to export and environmental best practice, appropriate cellar door experience, and be paid-up members of the Winemakers Federation of Australia.
The Flint Rock was tasted on May 28, 2015 in Vancouver, BC.
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