2015 Ava Marie Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Hand-picked over two weeks in early February. Whole-bunch pressed in ‘The Yellow Submarine’, an old Vaslin press from the 1970s. After a 4-hour press, the oxidised juice was lightly settled overnight, then gravity fed to a variety of different-sized old French oak barrels. Spontaneous fermentation took up to 21 days, after which some SO 2 was added and the wine remained in barrel, sur lie, for 6 – 9 months. Light fining before being racked out of barrel into tank, where it rested for a few months before bottling. The wine was then bottled-aged for 2 years before release. Natural cork. Tasted blind. Light and coconutty nose, with very powerful acidity. Still extremely youthful, not to say fossilised! Super-fresh. But just a tad hard. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Chardonnay Ava Marie has an attractive and quite resinous bouquet, honeysuckle permeating the citrus fruit, lime and apple blossom. The palate is fresh and vibrant, beautifully balanced, lime once again mixed with melon and light guava notes. Yet this is certainly no tropical Chardonnay because the acidity keeps this on its tiptoes, precise and detailed all the way through to the finish. Excellent. Tasted blind at the 10-Year-On horizontal in London.
Single vineyard (2 ha). Spontaneous ferment and 20 months on lees in older wood. Delicate, creamy citrus with high acid to balance. Intense, zesty and needs time – all too primary at the moment and not fully meshed but has all the ingredients in place for a longer future. (The 2008 that Craig Wessels gave me blind – it’s no longer available – was delicious, though I took it to be it a mature Sémillon.) Deep and long. (JH)