Hope Family Austin Chardonnay NV

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Bottle of Hope Family Austin Chardonnay.

Hope Family Wines Austin Chardonnay NV
13.5% alcohol, cork, Paso Robles/California.

This is unusual for two reasons: it’s a NV release, so presumably it’s a blend of multiple vintages, And the alcohol sits at 13.5%, which is low for these parts. Low in a good way, it should be noted. This sells for US $20.

Hope Family wines are SIP certified.

There’s character here. It tastes of brine, smoke, tropical fruit, preserved citrus and florals. The blend here also includes a dash of viognier, I believe, and it works nicely, both in adding a bit of slipperiness to the texture and also in those elevated floral notes. This wine is fresh, crisp and textural. It’s good. It’s value plus. 92 points.

Campbell Mattinson

This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, founder of The Winefront and mattinson, and former chief editor of Halliday.

When you pick up a wine book and see thousands of top-scoring wines, it’s hard to know which wine to choose. Mattinson guides you through this maze, giving you an honest view of the best Australian wines, the best wine stories, the best wine producers, the best value wines and simply, the best tasting wines. Importantly, Mattinson will tell you about the top-rated wines and also about the underrated wines. In short, Mattinson knows Australian wines inside and out.

Mattinson has been a photo-journalist since 1987. For the past 25 years he’s been a voice that you can trust when you’re looking for the best wines. 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, and is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter. He’s not afraid to put a score beside a wine. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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