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• White Wine

  2018 Central Coast Unoaked Chardonnay, Lockwood Vineyard

  £1895

  This Chardonnay shows delightful aromas of delicate white flowers, fresh green apple and notes of caramel. Clean flavours of apricot and pear are balanced by hint of key lime and lively mineral notes, with a creamy texture and supple mouthfeel, the crisp acidity leads to a long finish.

  The grapes are cultivated across the Central Coast, one of the most diverse and climatically cool grape growing regions in California. The soils are made up of crushed fossilised seashells similar to chalk and limestone, which produces elegantly styled wines.

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• White Wine

  2018 Ribolla Gialla, Benevolent Neglect

  £4100

  Ribolla Gialla is an ancient variety that originated in Greece and is mostly found in northeastern Italy and across the border in Slovenia, where it is known as Rebula.

  This California version is sourced from the Bengier Family Vineyard, a hidden gem inside of the Napa Valley’s nested ava Oak Knoll District. Fermented traditionally on skins for 15 days, this wine takes on a completely unique character for white wine. Due to its time on its skin and in the barrel it shows quite a bit of minerality, citrus skin with a core of tropical fruit with much in between.

  Tasting Note: Light, bright and fresh lemon sherbet draw the nose in followed by almond and acacia. On the palate, the wine is mineral, with slight notes of sour pear drop. The finish is long and refreshingly sour. This is a perfect oyster wine, match it with foods equally as bright, like a fresh arugula salad with a racy vinaigrette.

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• White Wine

  2018 Chardonnay, Benevolent Neglect

  £4250

  The 2018 Benevolent Neglect Chardonnay was one of the most talked-about wines of 2019. They’re also one of the wineries that the eminent Jancis Robinson was referring to when she urged her readers to “ take advantage of the creativity of California’s new generation of wine producers.” So naturally, we are delighted to have finally secured a small allocation.

  Don’t expect a big, over-the-top bottling, though—like all of Benevolent Neglect’s wines, the 2018 Chardonnay showcases precision and purity. Winemaker Matt Nagy says of his wine, “The goal with this wine was to eschew traditional ‘California Chardonnay’ as a style and make something more akin to a Cru Chablis.”   As you might expect, the wine delivers on Matt’s vision. The nose leans towards fresh citrus flavours of yuzu and tangerine, with orange blossoms and hints of oyster shell. The palate is electric and direct, with white peaches joining the party alongside lemon marmalade, white pepper, and a mouth-watering finish.

  This Chardonnay comes from a vineyard site that was special enough to warrant “a rehab project,” according to Matt. Organically farmed since the 1970s, the Chardonnay was ungrafted—a rarity in California that trades the eventual death of the vines by phylloxera, a soil-based parasite, for an extra layer of precision and intensity of flavour in the finished wines. The vines had been not-so-benevolently neglected over the last decade, but the raw material was so promising that Matt and his team poured in the work to bring the site back to greatness—and this bottling is proof that their effort was worth it.

  As you might expect from the name, the winemaking style at Benevolent Neglect is to stay out of the way. The wines are fermented with native yeasts and this Chardonnay is aged in a minimal amount of new oak to allow the innate quality of the vineyard to shine through.    Drink now – 2028.

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