2011 Giaconda Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
This 2011 Chardonnay has a beautifully built aromatic texture and richness from over a decade in bottle, while still retaining its youth. It displays fresh and dried florals, nectarine, honeyed notes and a praline barrel complexity that is beautifully integrated. Lovely, sweet fruit is still vibrant and fresh up front before descending into savory nutty layers, creamy textures and exotic butterscotch tones, potentially from a touch of botrytis. Finely judged acidity provides perfect support. Beautifully balanced, this finishes long and silky, with a nice touch of chalky minerality. The 2011 vintage was the wettest and coolest of this tasting, but it is in excellent condition, with lots more time to enjoy.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
(fermented and aged for 22 months in 30% new French oak barrels): Vivid yellow-gold. Exotically perfumed, powerful bouquet of poached pear, peach nectar, vanilla, iodine and candied ginger scents, with a smoky quality building in the glass. Sappy, seamless and expansive, offering intense orchard and pit fruit flavors braced by dusty minerals and orange pith. Clings impressively on the mineral-laced finish, leaving smoky lees and ripe citrus fruit notes behind.
Very wet, cool year. Luscious greenish pale gold. Strongly matchstick nose. Very strongly reductive. A little less tense than the 2012 on the palate but a lovely, if slightly soft, drink now. (JR)
The 2011 Chardonnay opens with a sulfide, struck match and meal-laden nose over a substantial core of butterscotch, warm apricots, mango, cashews and brioche plus a hint of chalk. This medium-bodied Chardonnay has a creamy texture and a very mineral character in the mouth and is loaded with flavor through the long finish. Drink it now to 2018+. Importer: Negociants U.S.A.; Napa, CA; tel. (707) 259-0993