Lingua Franca Chardonnay Bunker Hill 2021 750ml

Taking things to the next level, the 2021 Chardonnay Bunker Hill offers heightened precision in its focused and brilliant aromas of flint, lifted citrus of Meyer lemon zest, pristine green apple, and basil. The palate is explosive, with loads of pristine, distilled fruit of bright green apple and lime, but it’s not austere. It has a soft stony, silky texture and a finish that lasts for days, with fantastic density and a note of citrus oil. The pure, transparent nature of this wine is next level. The best Chardonnay I have tasted from Lingua Franca to date, its energy is electric while managing ripe clarity to its fruit. It has a phenolic texture, but there’s nothing coarse about it. Buy this stunning white if you can get it and drink it over the next 10-15 years. This is for lovers of Burgundy.

• Country: United States
• Region: Oregon
• Appellation: Willamette Valley
• Size: 750ml
• Color: White

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.