June 27, 2021 - Mag Dinner 2021 (Il Giallo, Sandy Springs, GA): From magnum; a touch golden in color; nose shows some aged and honeyed Chardonnay fruit, lemons, apples, kiss of oak, perfectly ripe and not overdone, really pretty and Burgundy inspired.
March 9, 2021 - Second bottle opened today. Pristine. Intense but elegant, fresh and harmonious, beautifully complex expression of ripe Chardonnay fruit, vibrant but ripe acidity and perfectly judged savoury oak. Excellent persistence. The structure, elegance and freshness are certainly Burgundian, but the fruit expression is brighter, with more sunshine if not warmth. Interesting but quite expensive. And I don't get the precise and profound terroir expression which I get in Burgundy. Flawless wine making but not a vin d'émotion. At least not for me.
March 9, 2021 - A bit of a riddle. Level 7cm below a perfect cork and intact wax capsule. Did they make an error when filling the bottle, or is it crack in the glass of the bottle? This bottle just travelled to me from London, and there are no signs of (recent) seepage, but there is a stain on the label where it covers the crack. Either way it looks like the wine is intact, even though the colour is a bit deep. However, we don't have to solve this puzzle (if there is any), since it also heavily corked.
March 28, 2016 - Full and rich. Lacking in enough acid to balance the otherwise big fruit and full body, but still very good chardonnay.
PDQ92
July 8, 2015 - Crazy lichee-melon nose! So surprising after a Cali Chard...this is incredibly floral, with no hint of oak...blind tasted you would not guess the grape, I suspect. So aromatic, and light and soft on the palate, it almost reminds me of a great Saki...hard to describe and not like anything I have ever had in a Chardonnay. Complex and intriguing..smells and tastes a bit like lemon balm..both citrusy and herbal at the same time.
June 16, 2015 - A profound wine from star wine maker Maggie Harrison, the 2013 Aurata displays an array of lovely colza flowers, deep minerals, honeysuckle and sun warm lime zest. A whiff of white flowers emerges after som time in the glass. The palate follows through nicely with balance as the number one keyword. There is a lovely acidity and plenty of texture to have this effort last for many years in the cellar. It is a subleme wine, a true wow effort with loads of power but still playing on its elegant strings. A 45 second length on the finish puts the dot over the i for me! (score is 94+)