A single vineyard wine, with fruit from the Awatere Valley, Marlborough. In individually numbered bottles! A light straw-golden colour in the glass. The nose is bright and filled with interest. Some flinty reductivity, lemon peel, yellow peach, apple, roasted cashew, grapefruit and toasted oatmeal aromas. Medium bodied – with depth but not huge weight. A brisk acidity highlights the spicy oak flavours, still needing more integration here; but the juicy fruit is the highlight. A pleasant greenness lingers around the edges – fresh, lacy and crisp, contrasting with the fleshier stonefruit flavours, and giving good tension and complexity to the palate. Oak and lees influences are both apparent, but nicely understated, carrying through a creamy texture to a lengthy finish. 90pts
Stanley Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2018
