Chalmers The Spirit

Mattinson review of Chalmers The Spirit.

Chalmers The Spirit
$140 per 500ml, 47% alcohol, screwcap, Heathcote Victoria.

In the words of Chalmers themselves, this is a “white spirit that defies categorisation, a love child of Grappa, Schnapps and Eau de Vie, guided through the process by our assistant winemaker at the time, experienced distiller Megan Hume. The end result is an unadulterated pure expression of (the) Moscato Giallo (grape).”
It’s pretty full on. It smells and tastes of chamomile, which sounds soft and gentle but this is anything but. This is a force of alcohol, scent and flavour, the alcohol kicking like a mule, the mid palate of barley and hay and scorched flowers and spice doing its best in the face of alcohol-fuelled fire. It’s both boundary-pushing and not for the feint-hearted.

Campbell Mattinson

This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of the highly respected The Winefront site.

Mattinson has been a respected wine critic and photo-journalist since 1987. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the prized Best Australian Sports Writing Award.

Mattinson puts a score out of 100 on every wine that he reviews. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
Previous
Previous

Distillery Botanica Triple Sec Valencia Liqueur: Review

Next
Next

Lino Ramble Sly Fox Fortified Arinto