Showing all 7 results

• White Wine

  2012 Grésy Chardonnay Langhe DOC, Marchesi di Grésy

  £2995

  Piemonte produces some of the finest, most Burgundian, examples of Chardonnay in Italy. This is one of the best – a complex barrel-aged style, and one of Italy’s finest examples of the grape. The Chardonnay grapes are sourced from two parcels of vines. One is in Barbaresco, just below Martinenga, facing south-west at an altitude of 230m. The second is on the north-east side of Monte Aribaldo in the commune of Treiso, 370 metres above sea level.

  Ripe, honeyed style with intense hazelnut, nougat, caramel and butter on the nose. A generous silky textured mouth feel is nuanced and savoury with fine citrus and stone fruit characters and taut acidity. Layered and complex with subtle use of oak giving an elegant style with notable minerality. Perfectly balanced, with considerable length.

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• White Wine

  2012 Columbia Valley Chardonnay, L’Ecole No.41

  £3500

  Aromas of butter and toast are joined by mango, poached pear and Spanish almonds. The wine underwent surlie aging and was stirred for six months, which accounts for the rich entry and buttery mid-palate, but there’s not as much of the oak flavours that were hinted at in the nose. Instead, the theme is carried by apricot and sweet pear with a bite of Golden Delicious apple in the finish.

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• White Wine

  2012 Maragle Chardonnay, Eden Road

  £3650

  The Eden Road Maragle Chardonnay is a stunning wine and it’s often compared to Grand Cru Chablis in terms of its style, texture and flavours.

  The grapes used for this Maragle chardonnay come from a small vineyard in the Maragle Valley, south of the Tumbarumba village, at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level. It is a unique site that generally produces more powerfully structured chardonnay compared to other vineyards in the region.

  The aroma presents a complex, yet pristine notes of grapefruit, citrus blossom and white peach, with a touch of struck match character. The gorgeous palate also reveals pear, green apple and pristine minerality, mouth-watering freshness that is the alpine snowy mountains. On the palate it is beautifully long, powerful, driven with elegance & restraint.
  The winemaking is kept very simple in order to express the terroir of this special Maragle vineyard. The fruit is handpicked and whole bunch pressed directly to French oak without settling. The juice is then simply fermented and matured in French oak with some ‘battonage’ stirring for 12 months.

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• White Wine

  2012 Faultline Chardonnay, Kooyong

  £4200

  This is handpicked, single-site chardonnay at its very best — a whole bunch of pressed grapes, fermented with natural yeasts and left on its lees for 12 months. It’s a pretty hands-off process, really, but that’s the secret to letting the character of the site show its true colours. The result is a wine layered with complex savoury notes matched with crystalline, fresh, zesty fruit that fills the palate. Flinty mineral characters lead to grapefruit and lemon zest fruit while the barrel influence brings softer nougat, cashew and toast.

  This wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 5-8 years for something very special!

  The Faultline Vineyard 

  Faultline, the largest block at Kooyong, is planted predominantly to Chardonnay in an area where the soils are characterised by a friable dark brown loamy clay.    Adjacent to the Farrago block to the West, the Faultline block is more gently sloping. The block is bounded by a geological fault that runs along the south-western end, beyond which the soil becomes quite poorly drained. Before this fault, however, the soils are well-drained and high in organic matter.   The Chardonnay from the Faultline block is rich and full, defined by generosity of texture while still supported by Kooyong’s inherent minerality.

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• White Wine

  2012 Farrago Chardonnay, Kooyong

  £4200

  This 2012 Farrago is supremely elegant, complex and balanced, seamless and so aromatic.  Reminiscent of Puligny Montrachet – peach, melon and nectarine knit with fresh vanilla oak and underpinned by nuances of grapefruit, ginger and cloves.

  Thre palate just feels beautiful on the tongue. Smooth and creamy, with delightful roundness and fatness, it’s long, pristine and tightly focussed, with intense stonefruit, melon and citrus flavours deftly knit with vanilla oak and wrapped in a racy acidity.  The finish lingers for a ridiculously long time.   White Burgundy of this quality would cost you triple.

  The Farrago Vineyard

  Exclusively planted to Chardonnay, this small block is gently north-sloping with sediments ranging from those higher in sand to those higher in clay.  The best fruit within the block comes from the zone higher in clay where the soil has a mottled appearance due to high sandstone pebble content, hence the block’s name Farrago.   The Chardonnay from the Farrago block is defined by a precise linear character with strong silicaceous minerality. At its best, this is the premier white wine with the greatest ageing potential.

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• White Wine

  2012 Hapgood Chardonnay, Clifton Brewer

  £12500

  This is a stunning Chardonnay, one with all the dials were turned up, and in a good way!  It’s a full-bodied, richly textured and layered Chardonnay that has explosive aromas of honeysuckle, jasmine, lime, struck match and yeastiness.  The palate lives up to the nose and offers vivid tension with a core of pineapple leading to complex tones of exotic fruits, apple tart, brioche and toasted nuts.   The finish is long and textured with mouthwatering acidity that bounds well for a few more years of ageing.

  At Brewer Clifton they strive to remove the winemaker’s signature, allowing the voice of the vineyard to be the overriding expression.  Only neutral barrels are employed and they strive for whole cluster fermentation, interestingly the fruit from each vineyard is handled identically from harvest to bottling, allowing the true essence of each site to be expressed.

  They also farm with a focus of ripening the stems of the bunch alongside the fruit, allowing the cluster to be in harmony. Working with the stems allows for wines that are structured, earthy and balanced with the exceptional Santa Rita Hills fruit. The analogy they use is roasting fish or meat on the bone, the bone offers complex flavours very different than taking it off of the bone to cook it.

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• White Wine

  2012 3D Chardonnay, Clifton Brewer

  £12500

  This is an outstanding Chardonnay from the renowned Brewer-Clifton. The 3D vineyard is nestled between Lafond and Ampelos in the Santa Rita Hills and was the first vineyard planted by the Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton in 2007.

  This 2012 3D Chardonnay is a deeply textured wine that is brimming with complexity and nuance.   The aromas that hit you from the glass are sea spray mixed with lemon zest – also fresh shucked oyster.  It’s a fabulous combination.  The palate is dense and complex with creamy orchard fruits, lemon, minerals and nectarine.  All this is wrapped up with a mouthwatering finish that keeps all these flavours alive.  One of the standout wines of 2020 and at its peak for the next 3-5 years.

  At Brewer Clifton they strive to remove the winemaker’s signature, allowing the voice of the vineyard to be the overriding expression.  Only neutral barrels are employed and they strive for whole cluster fermentation, interestingly the fruit from each vineyard is handled identically from harvest to bottling, allowing the true essence of each site to be expressed.

  They also farm with a focus of ripening the stems of the bunch alongside the fruit, allowing the cluster to be in harmony. Working with the stems allows for wines that are structured, earthy and balanced with the exceptional Santa Rita Hills fruit. The analogy they use is roasting fish or meat on the bone, the bone offers complex flavours very different than taking it off of the bone to cook it.

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