Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Chardonnay 2010 – $$

I’ve been looking forward to this wine. Bought it last week…think ‘desert/oasis’ etc…

Right proper chardy gold colour. Long and complex and nutty and biscuity; rich weight and mouthfeel. There are ripe peaches in the glass, and butter, with a texture I would call fine-grained. I see lovely age characters coming through on the palate, and balance between the fruit and minerality.

Predominantly made from fruit from the Wairau and Awatere valleys, some hand-harvested, with 11% sourced from the Gimblett Gravels. 11 months in French oak, some wild yeast fermentation.

Bought on special. Natch. This is a definite step up from the Private Bin version.

On second glass this wine seems a bit fat? But maybe that’s cos I’ve been on lean pickings lately with my wine choices, and have lost some palate memory with all the astringent wines I’ve been supping. The fat part must come from the Hawkes Bay fruit component.