Definite mid gold in colour. Creamy/ buttery nose with a hint of preserved lemon. Palate is rich and unctuous with lemon zest, lime and toasted butter. Long finish with a nice mineral/ wet stone vibe. 4 bottles left of this vintage - I think this is very near its peak and certainly I will be finishing up the remaining bottles by the end of 2024.
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Mid green-gold in colour. Showing little sign of age. A touch of TCA on the nose? Otherwise, baked apples, creamy oak and a hints of ripe melon. Palate is super-compacted, not really opened out at this age, long and linear, with a Riesling-like, key-lime pie freshness. Not what I was expecting. Is the fruit suppressed by TCA?
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Green apple fruit with additional layers of more topical fruit, fine oak flavors and mineral notes of steel and sea salt. A beautifully creamy and buttery texture with sufficient acidity to keep it fresh and light. Had this in 2018 and 2020 and the development has been flawless with many years of life left. Unfortunately I have now burned through my last bottle too early...
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Pale gold and super bright in the glass. Citrus and oak on the nose which becomes less reticent as the wine warms in the glass. Very distinct acidity - hint of green apple in this bottle - excellent length with a full creaminess in the palate - a mix of oak and malolactic which is a nod to GC Chablis as noted by a previous reviewer. Excellent wine - 6 bottles remain and I must remain firm to ration the remainder as I suspect this wine is only going to improve for a number of years but is so delicious right now.
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Pale lemon. Pronounced. Creamy and mineral with high pungent acidity. Lemon, hay, touch of butter, but the sharp acidity makes it balanced. Could be mistaken for a GC Chablis blind.
NB: Second vintage, the 2015 Aconcagua Costa "Las Pizarras" Chardonnay was sourced entirely from their Aconcagua Costa Vineyard from specific plots that have a significant component of "pizarra" (schist), hence the name. 2015 was a warm and dry year, but they still managed to bottle a white with 13% alcohol, a low pH of 3.1 and with almost nine grams of acidity! The full clusters were pressed and the juice put to ferment with indigenous yeasts after 24 hours in French oak barrels. Only half of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. It matured in barrique (15% new) for 12 months.
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Still the palest, palest gold. Very clear. Nose is citrus, lemon sherbet with a very subtle hint of (American?) oak. Palate has good weight - unusually both lime and lemon very distinctly evident. Nice clean long citrus finish - special wine with many years left in the tank.
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Perfumed, initial fruit gives way to a minerality and structure Ripe large limes Stone fruit: soft peach, apricot Tropical fruit: musk melon Wet stone, chalk
Dry Med body Med alcohol High acid Med+ finish, cream, dried apricot Mild oak tannins on the gums - probably old oak Less fruit on the palate vs the nose
Vg. Cold New World fruit meets Old World-style winemaking.
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Lots of mineral notes, a bit of straw and hay. Some marginal petrol notes too similar to an aged Riesling. The fruit profile is mostly citric with lime and green apple but also slightly unripe pineapple and apricot. The palate then with electric acidity. Unlike other New Word Chards from Sonoma no buttery texture, but rather linear and clean. Aromatics show mostly citric flavours. Solid length finish. This was a positive surprise against my modest expectations and I‘m curious to see how this ages, there is 95+ potential here.
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Blind tasting dinner. Plenty of citrus and acidity but not much minerality. At least very little oak. Had this as a simple Chardonnay but not Burgundy, too simple to reflect really any particular place.
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A lean and citrus version without any obvious oak which is a good trait. Very much not new world and more in the burgundy and New Zealand style. Sharp acidity and finish. Would appeal to More classical fans than new world.
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An evening at 67 Pall Mall: £11/glass at 67 Pall Mall. I wasn't wild about this, finding it a bit thin and mean compared to the others we tried alongside.
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This is only OK. Technically well made more in the style of a Burgundy than a new world wine. Everything is restrained but it is just not particularly interesting. It is not worth its price point.
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Blind Tasting & Dinner: Tasted blind. Pure green apple, lime, racy acidity, tons of minerality. Guessed it to be a young German Riesling. Highlight? Clearly the precision. Drinks well today but I guess will be even more interesting in a few years time. 93+ points.
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High acidity, but not in a disturbing way. The first whiff reveals the salty minerality that is Chardonnay-like, but everything else is not. Notes of green apple flavours point to Riesling. Straight forward precision comes to mind. Fresh. The oak is, despite 12mths in the barrel, hardly noticable which (this is a positive). I rate this one 95 which does not so much reflect how much I like it, however, but include a premium for being being special.
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First glass was bitingly sweet and barely drinkable. Each successive glass thereafter was better and better as it got more air. The first really convincing NW Chardonnay I can recall.
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Very nice clean fresh nose with citrus and peach components. Medium body, good acidity, fruit to balance. Nice finish. A high quality wine but not spectacular at this stage. Drinks ok now but will improve but I was curious about this one so couldn't resist a Coravin sample. Keep for 3-4 years. 91-93p
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12/30/2023 - J'agnes Likes this wine: 94 Points
Definite mid gold in colour. Creamy/ buttery nose with a hint of preserved lemon. Palate is rich and unctuous with lemon zest, lime and toasted butter. Long finish with a nice mineral/ wet stone vibe. 4 bottles left of this vintage - I think this is very near its peak and certainly I will be finishing up the remaining bottles by the end of 2024.
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5/26/2023 - Oddbod Likes this wine: 93 Points
Mid green-gold in colour. Showing little sign of age. A touch of TCA on the nose? Otherwise, baked apples, creamy oak and a hints of ripe melon. Palate is super-compacted, not really opened out at this age, long and linear, with a Riesling-like, key-lime pie freshness. Not what I was expecting. Is the fruit suppressed by TCA?
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12/10/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points
Green apple fruit with additional layers of more topical fruit, fine oak flavors and mineral notes of steel and sea salt. A beautifully creamy and buttery texture with sufficient acidity to keep it fresh and light. Had this in 2018 and 2020 and the development has been flawless with many years of life left. Unfortunately I have now burned through my last bottle too early...
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10/15/2021 - J'agnes Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pale gold and super bright in the glass. Citrus and oak on the nose which becomes less reticent as the wine warms in the glass. Very distinct acidity - hint of green apple in this bottle - excellent length with a full creaminess in the palate - a mix of oak and malolactic which is a nod to GC Chablis as noted by a previous reviewer. Excellent wine - 6 bottles remain and I must remain firm to ration the remainder as I suspect this wine is only going to improve for a number of years but is so delicious right now.
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7/23/2021 - GArpaia Likes this wine:
Pale lemon. Pronounced. Creamy and mineral with high pungent acidity. Lemon, hay, touch of butter, but the sharp acidity makes it balanced. Could be mistaken for a GC Chablis blind.
NB:
Second vintage, the 2015 Aconcagua Costa "Las Pizarras" Chardonnay was sourced entirely from their Aconcagua Costa Vineyard from specific plots that have a significant component of "pizarra" (schist), hence the name. 2015 was a warm and dry year, but they still managed to bottle a white with 13% alcohol, a low pH of 3.1 and with almost nine grams of acidity! The full clusters were pressed and the juice put to ferment with indigenous yeasts after 24 hours in French oak barrels. Only half of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. It matured in barrique (15% new) for 12 months.
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3/19/2021 - J'agnes Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still the palest, palest gold. Very clear. Nose is citrus, lemon sherbet with a very subtle hint of (American?) oak. Palate has good weight - unusually both lime and lemon very distinctly evident. Nice clean long citrus finish - special wine with many years left in the tank.
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9/1/2020 - Nipperu Likes this wine: 92 Points
clear pale lemon green
Perfumed, initial fruit gives way to a minerality and structure
Ripe large limes
Stone fruit: soft peach, apricot
Tropical fruit: musk melon
Wet stone, chalk
Dry
Med body
Med alcohol
High acid
Med+ finish, cream, dried apricot
Mild oak tannins on the gums - probably old oak
Less fruit on the palate vs the nose
Vg. Cold New World fruit meets Old World-style winemaking.
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5/1/2020 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points
Lots of mineral notes, a bit of straw and hay. Some marginal petrol notes too similar to an aged Riesling. The fruit profile is mostly citric with lime and green apple but also slightly unripe pineapple and apricot. The palate then with electric acidity. Unlike other New Word Chards from Sonoma no buttery texture, but rather linear and clean. Aromatics show mostly citric flavours. Solid length finish. This was a positive surprise against my modest expectations and I‘m curious to see how this ages, there is 95+ potential here.
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11/16/2019 - pavel_p wrote: 87 Points
Blind tasting dinner. Plenty of citrus and acidity but not much minerality. At least very little oak. Had this as a simple Chardonnay but not Burgundy, too simple to reflect really any particular place.
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11/15/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 87 Points
During a blind tasting dinner. Very much in the citrus corner and grassy, I was guessing Sauvignon Blanc. Table wine quality.
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5/3/2019 - Mbad77 wrote: 92 Points
A lean and citrus version without any obvious oak which is a good trait. Very much not new world and more in the burgundy and New Zealand style.
Sharp acidity and finish. Would appeal to
More classical fans than new world.
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1/29/2019 - ManhattanBeach Likes this wine:
An evening at 67 Pall Mall: £11/glass at 67 Pall Mall. I wasn't wild about this, finding it a bit thin and mean compared to the others we tried alongside.
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6/8/2018 - Philip67 wrote: 88 Points
This is only OK. Technically well made more in the style of a Burgundy than a new world wine. Everything is restrained but it is just not particularly interesting. It is not worth its price point.
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5/28/2018 - DAN BAILEY Likes this wine:
Very tight. Pale yellow colour. Should have decanted this!
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3/25/2018 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
Blind Tasting & Dinner: Tasted blind. Pure green apple, lime, racy acidity, tons of minerality. Guessed it to be a young German Riesling. Highlight? Clearly the precision. Drinks well today but I guess will be even more interesting in a few years time. 93+ points.
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3/24/2018 - sirpat00 wrote: 95 Points
High acidity, but not in a disturbing way. The first whiff reveals the salty minerality that is Chardonnay-like, but everything else is not. Notes of green apple flavours point to Riesling. Straight forward precision comes to mind. Fresh. The oak is, despite 12mths in the barrel, hardly noticable which (this is a positive). I rate this one 95 which does not so much reflect how much I like it, however, but include a premium for being being special.
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2/5/2018 - DAN BAILEY Likes this wine:
First glass was bitingly sweet and barely drinkable. Each successive glass thereafter was better and better as it got more air. The first really convincing NW Chardonnay I can recall.
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5/12/2017 - Mascarello59 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very nice clean fresh nose with citrus and peach components. Medium body, good acidity, fruit to balance. Nice finish. A high quality wine but not spectacular at this stage. Drinks ok now but will improve but I was curious about this one so couldn't resist a Coravin sample. Keep for 3-4 years. 91-93p
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