2016 Legacy Hawkes Bay Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Mid lemon. Very reduced, sulphidic, struck match. Too much, such that fruit beneath can barely be found. Linear palate, with yellow apple, nut and struck match. Fair length but a bit flat. (TJ)
Critic scores
Average Score
Tim Jackson MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Legacy Chardonnay is whole-cluster-pressed and matured in 43% new barriques for 12 months, two of which are in tank. The nose is a little smudged, missing the delineation I would have liked, possibly because of excessive use of new oak. The palate is balanced and rounded in texture, lacking some tension but displaying decent volume and subtle nuttiness towards the finish. It’s not bad, but fails to stand out from the crowd.
Refreshingly different in style from the rest of the Chardonnays under the Villa Maria umbrella, Vidal Estate's 2016 Legacy Chardonnay is a medium-bodied, citrus-driven wine. Hints of struck flint appear on the nose, along with subtle pencil shaving suggestions of oak, but the driving force is the wine's concentrated grapefruit flavors that linger through the extended finish. As an aside, the previously reviewed 2011 Legacy Chardonnay (92+) has been rereleased by the winery, and it remains in peak condition, capable of aging through 2020. Note that this wine is labeled El Legado in the United States.