Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2023 750ml

The 2023 vintage in Margaret River was just about as good as they come for Chardonnay, and perhaps the best the region has ever seen. Time will expose that comment for being true or otherwise; however, from everything I have seen, I believe it will hold. Here, the 2023 Chardonnay is lacy and detailed, with a splay of pink grapefruit, salted cashews, white peach, chalky phenolics and crushed shells. The acidity is juicy, the flavor sapid and the finish long and persistent. There’s a lot to like here. 13.5% alcohol. Screw cap.

• Country: Australia
• Region: Margaret River
• Size: 750ml
• Color: White
• Alcohol by Vol: 14.0%

Varietal

Chardonnay

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one that has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is Chardonnay. This green-skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity, which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.