Sixty Second Swirl Wine of the Week – Gallagher Wines Chardonnay

by Brent Lello Yass Valley Times Wine Columnist

The staple white wine in the Lello household is Chardonnay, as we love the versatility of this variety. Our own personal tastes have seen us move away from the unwooded styles of Chardonnay (not there’s anything wrong with them) to those wines that are a little more complex through the application of oak and yeast lees. To us, these wines can be enjoyed by themselves, or more often than not with a range of weekly dinner menu options. A great example of such a style of wine is the subject of this week’s “swirl” – the Gallagher Chardonnay 2022.

This Chardonnay is a pale gold colour in the glass with bright flashes of light from within. A swirl reveals beguiling aromas of fresh-from-the-grill roasted white peaches and nectarines with seductively voluptuous notes of vanilla and hints of ground, roasted hazelnuts. The palate is beautifully balanced with ripe stone fruit flavours combining with a palate rounding buttery creaminess and light little lick of acidity, leading to a lingering, food friendly friendly finish.

We enjoyed our bottle with my household food fave – creamy butter chicken with curry infused chips – and the combination was classic. This cracking Chardonnay would be just the stuff with roast chicken with honey mustard chicken gravy or a creamy, cheesy fettuccine carbonara.

I sourced my bottle from the local wine shelf at the Yass BWS, but you can grab a bottle direct from Greg and Lauren at their Gallagher Cellar Door, situated along the southern reaches of Dog Trap Road, or online for $30 per bottle here – https://gallagherwines.com.au/index.php