2015 Nugan Estate Chardonnay Frasca's Lane Vineyard King Valley 750 ml

New World Opulence Meets Burgundian Balance

The bottle was disguised under a plain brown wrapper when we invited our colleagues here at WineAccess HQ to swirl, sniff, and swish last week. We were putting something to the test. Our importer friend, Kenny O., had sent us a few bottles of the 2015 Nugan Frasca’s Lane Chardonnay, and we wanted to know whether anyone on the tasting panel here at HQ would mistake this Australian Chardonnay for a Premier Cru from the Côte de Beaune.

We had the comparisons that Antonio Galloni’s Vinous has made over the years in mind, in the process of lobbing 90+ scores on this under-$20 gem. Vinous has likened the Nugan Frasca’s Lane to “a premier cru from Chassagne-Montrachet” and said “this could easily pass for a $75 wine.” Other reviews pegged this King Valley white as mimicking “some of the idiosyncratic white blends from Chorey-les-Beaune” and a fine Chablis.

When the guesses came in from our tasting panel, they were all over the map. “Viré-Clessé?” “Meursault?” “Sonoma Coast?” “Chablis?” Score one for Galloni.

The mystery wine hails from the southern stretch of the King Valley, above 2,400 feet up from the valley floor and in the shadow of the “Australian Alps.” Frasca’s Lane Vineyard sits on 250 acres straddling a stream bustling with trout, and enjoys a cool-climate combination of brisk evenings and warm summer days. That mesmerizing mix of New World opulence and Burgundian balance helps the Nugan Frasca’s Lane Chardonnay fool the palates of experts at Vinous and around the WineAccess table.

The Nugans trace their Australian history back to 1940, when a young Alfredo Nugan emigrated from Spain with his family to start a small fruit and vegetable packing business. As their family business grew, they expanded into the wine business in the 1990s. Today, Alfredo’s grandson Matthew Nugan manages the family business. He told us the story of how the Nugan’s came to Frasca’s Lane.

“Frasca’s was discovered in 1998 when Mum was traveling in Victoria,” Matthew said. “About this time we were looking to diversify from being grape growers to winemakers. Mum called me and told me about a property in King Valley, asking me to take a look, and see what I thought. I didn’t think long when I saw it. It’s a beautiful tract of land, situated at high altitude, perfectly suited to cool-climate grape growing. The deep, volcanic soils drain well, along with adequate rainfall to develop healthy vineyards.”

In 2004, the Nugans would debut the inaugural Frasca’s Lane Chardonnay from King Valley. They’ve been lighting up the critics’ scoreboards — and masquerading as much more expensive white Burgundy — ever since.

The 2015 vintage was exceptional in King Valley, especially for white varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. Cool spring temperatures and the perfect amount of rain allowed for even fruit set and healthy canopies. Ideal summer growing conditions without any heat spikes gave fruit enough time for balanced ripening and solid natural acid retention. The kings of King Valley capitalized on these conditions to produce pristine fruit with the bright flavours and crisp bright acidity for which the cool-climate mountain region of Victoria is known.

The 2015 is the most exhilarating Frasca’s Lane we’ve tasted to date. Gorgeous, perfumed tropical fruit on the nose, perhaps the only hint this Chardonnay doesn’t hail from the vineyards surrounding Dijon. After three days opened in the fridge, the wine was as fresh and clean as it was on Day One.

Just $17.99 for a bottle of classy Chardonnay you might mistake for a bottle of Meursault. Shipping included on 6. The 840 bottles we secured won’t last the day; sorry in advance to anyone too slow on the trigger.