2022 Isabel Estate Wild Barrique Chardonnay

Brand	Isabel Estate Vineyard
Region	Marlborough
Varietal	Chardonnay
Size	750ml
Alcohol %	13.5%
Vintage	2022
Country	New Zealand

This Double Champion Trophy & Double Gold Medal Chardonnay is crafted from 30+ year old close planted (double density 4,500 vines per hectare) Mendoza Clone vines. The fruit was handpicked over a number of days, leaving some to hang longer and develop added elements of ripe fruit concentration.100% wild fermented in a mix of 500l puncheons and 300l French Oak barriques it spends 12-months in barrel undergoing malolactic fermentation and extended time on lees. This was followed by blending in tank and aging a further 5 months prior to bottling. The result is a finely balanced Chardonnay with power, concentration, complexity and texture of Premier to Grand Cru White Burgundy in quality & style… selling for a fraction of their price. A project winemaker Jeremy McKenzie has been working on for several years, selecting the finest small parcels of fruit each year to go into this stunning Chardonnay. No rush to drink, buy a few bottles and lose in your cellar… in 5-8 years you will be drinking a slice of Chardonnay heaven!

Deeply brooding and haunting bouquet of sun ripened peaches, roasted hazelnuts, apricot kernel, fig, grapefruit, smoky, toasty oak with a fine citrus trace.

In the glass this Chardonnay gains more in power, balance and harmony, as the stonefruit and fig laden mid palate… nutty, toasty oak and flinty complexities become one. Power and elegance in tandem, beautifully textural, the generous palate is buoyed throughout by a fine citrus undercurrent. Simply gorgeous and easily mistaken for a Cru White Burgundy. Serve with roasted white meats and poultry, rich seafood dishes, even home cooked chicken burgers. For optimal drinking pleasure serve between 10-13 degrees.