2018 Tolpuddle Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented in French oak. Aged nine months in barrel with gentle stirring as required, then rested in tank on lees. TA 7 g/l, pH 3.2. Smells and looks barely older than the 2023, perhaps slightly more savoury. Spicy, creamy but gently so, with excellent freshness. So youthful and lively, refined in its balance of oak and cool-climate fruit. (Having tasted this wine, I extended my suggested drinking window for the 2023.) (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The similarities between this 2018 Chardonnay and the 2017 before it are stark. Both are firm, savory, concentrated and intense—almost painfully so in the mouth. The joint approach of acid and fruit are woven together in a DNA strand of completion that descend on the palate and coordinates an attack so precise that it stings. It simultaneously lingers in the mouth and the memory. The fruit is wrapped around a core of acid and crouches on the mid-palate. This is a sensational wine in every respect of the term.
Winemaker Adam Wadewitz trying to build more interest in the wines with just a little struck match. Notably pale. Modest nose. Strong lime notes and a bit more emphatic on the palate than both the nose and other vintages. Interesting… it's blooming in the glass. Long again. More layers than some. I underrated it on the nose. But it’s not quite as concentrated as the 2017. (JR)