Historic Hardys vertical yields ‘remarkable’ results

A vertical tasting of Eileen Hardy Chardonnay dating back to 1986 in London last week yielded “remarkable” results, with the oldest wines still bright and alive.

The Eileen Hardy Chardonnay vertical at Berry Bros & Rudd – db was sat opposite Sir James Hardy and Steven Spurrier

Held at Berry Bros & Rudd in St James’s, the company’s chief executive Dan Jago described the Chardonnays from the ‘80s as “tasting better than the old grand Burgundies” of the same age, while he believes younger wines “will be better in 10 years than they are today”.

Wine consultant Barry Dick MW was also pleasantly surprised by the tasting. “These wines come from a relatively hot climate for Chardonnay but there was still brightness and acidity, opulence and texture in the wines, there was a real spectrum of flavours,” he said.

Notching up the superlatives, family member Bill Hardy declared the older wines “remarkable”. “I can’t quite believe what I’m tasting – I thought the wines from the ‘80s would have fallen over years ago, it’s remarkable that they’ve stood up the way they have – they have amazing complexity and balance,” he said.

“While most people credit Murray Tyrrell for being the first to plant Chardonnay in Australia in the late ‘60s, it’s highly likely that James Busby brought it into the country in the ‘20s.

“We were brought up trying to make Riesling in Australia, so it took us a while to break out with Chardonnay and realise what our opportunities were,” he added.

On the subject of screwcaps, Hardy admitted that the company was too ahead of the game when it started using them in the ‘70s and that the market “wouldn’t accept” them at the time.