Amisfield Central Otago Chardonnay 2017 $45
Dr Stephanie Lambert has a fearsome reputation as a winemaker and yet the big up’s, the accolades, the critic prop’s per se, are overwhelmingly in favour of her pinot noir. Indeed she does make damn fine, world-class pinot noir at every price point, yet I’m here to say that it’s about time we bowed down to her chardonnay. The 2017 vintage is so saturated with white peach and clean, juicy, citrus characters, that aromatically it’s an orchard up your nose. Fermented with wild yeasts and matured in French oak, it has fruit concentration and intensity that leaps out of the glass, alongside caramelised, spicy oak tones and breathtaking acidity. It’s so so delicious and gets even better if left in the glass for a time (if you’re disciplined enough to be a slow sipper) However, I fear this wine is now an elusive, rare work of genius and not available anywhere if the internet happens to be your only method of hunting. However some lucky people may have this in their cellar and they can be assured it’s a masterpiece in chardonnay construction. A masterpiece.
