Place of Changing Winds Larderdark Chardonnay 2022

“Close-planted vines. The wine rested in glass Wineglobes, the sentient alien looking pods that they are, and two oak casks. So elegant, so refined, poise and precision yet with flavour and depth. It opens with flickers of flinty mineral elements, toast and woody spices, sweet spice too, sugared almond, green apple, stone fruits and alpine herbal elements. The palate a good reflection of this, quite notable concentration and depth, a plushness trimmed with talc-like mineral pucker and a long, palate-staining, sweet spice finish. One of those wines you shake the last drops out of the bottle onto your tongue, or is that just me?”

“Low yields this vintage, which is a bummer, so not much made but great concentration of fruit weight and power the positive outcome. However, just when you think all the spiced stone fruit, citrus, nougat-like lees and cedary oak will add up to a weighty wine, it does an about-face. The acidity kicks in, reining this in beautifully. It is a distinctive wine and one day, will emerge as a wine of place.”