Chard Farm Judge & Jury Central Otago Chardonnay 2020

Description

• French oak
• White florals
• Lemon meringue
• Creamy texture

An enticing perfume of ripe yellow citrus fruits and white florals. More complex notes of spice and a hint of iodine linger in the background. Vibrant lemon méringue flavours and a creamy texture offer fresh richness and intensity in the mouth. Salt licked acid on the finish drives the flavours for miles.

The Judge & Jury Chardonnay is grown on The Tiger and Viper Vineyards in the Lowburn and Parkburn regions of the Cromwell basin. A steep slope overlooking the Tiger vineyard in Lowburn produces the same aromatically spicy/floral profiles that you find in the Pinot Noir grown there, as well as similar persistence and very long-lived flavours. While the Viper Vineyard in Parkburn grows intensely lemony and weighty Chardonnay, the palate length showing the rich mineral acid and saline notes typical of this vineyard.

They are keeping the crop load very low, and the wine is mostly fermented in tank while a small portion is made in barrel. The result is a wine that is tight, refreshingly pure and mineral driven, showcasing cool climate fruit where the oak is very much in the background. Best from 2022 on.