2018 Giaconda Chardonnay Estate Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (18) Avg Score: 94.8 points

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  4/6/2024 - VincentMorey wrote:

  Shared by someone at dinner. Screw cap, had no idea this was an iconic Chardonnay nor its current exorbitant market value. Not my style but I can appreciate why some really enjoy it. Lots of intense smokey ash or some might say burnt matchstick. The fruit is in the background, so I recommend a decant. The malo and oak are quite interesting... definitely not California run of the mill Chardonnay. Nice mouth feel, and a light medley of tropical and some mild stone fruit with some lemon and minerals. The finish is fairly dry and savory. Definitely not Chablis like as some may have alluded to. A just ok match with food (from a mushroom flatbread / pizza style to fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with mozzarella). The matchstick aromas fade over time, and the wine becomes less complex. Suggest holding them longer and a splash decant at a minimum. Perhaps ok at $100 but if really $300, I'd rather have white Burg...

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  1/30/2024 - RobinTeo wrote: 93 Points

  NSG night at Duomo: Thought it was quite puligny then thought it was chablis. Zingy lemon curd, white flowers, saline on the bouquet, palate showing riper yellow fruit - pineapples, yellow peaches and plums. Great acidity and minerality - electrical! Burg killer definitely.

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  1/24/2024 - felixp Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Nice wine, but chewed up and spat out by the Leeuwin 2018 in our annual Giaconda v Leeuwin January tasting. This time, the 2018, 2014 and 2010 vintage were in the gun.
  Leeuwin streets ahead in 18 and 14, the 2010 was line-ball, I marginally preferred the Leeuwin, but it was a 4-4 vote (8 very experienced wine drinkers, 5 in the trade)
  
  I guess its "groovy baby" to produce massively reduced chards, perhaps aimed at pleasing bored wine critics and delighting label-drinkers, but when you stack up these two winerys, one is constantly and significantly better, and it is now 1/3 the price!!! lol.
  
  I must be one of those fools who drinks wine for enjoyment.

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  11/26/2023 - William Kelley Likes this wine:

  As I drank the 2018 Giaconda Chardonnay, I found myself wondering if this is the best Chardonnay made in the New World today; and also reflecting on how risk-averse so much contemporary white Burgundy has become. Unwinding in the glass with notes of crisp stone and orchard fruit mingled with accents of citrus zest, hazelnut, gunflint and bread dough, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit, tangy acids and a long, precise finish. It's a spectacular wine that I'd kill to own more of.

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  7/17/2023 - MQuentel@web.de Likes this wine: 96 Points

  The wine served blind were immediately recognized by my friends. This mixture of flint, matches, popcorn and white sesame is great as quite unique. The reduction is still evident but has degraded somewhat compare from a year ago, the wine has gained body as a result. Last year I had it at 98 points, this year below that as it has become a bit plumper in my perception. Perhaps it was also due to the previously drunk 2015 Corton Charlemagne from Roulot, which simply made the difference of finesse and balance clear. Still, this is great stuff.

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