2023 Ava Marie Chardonnay
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The 2023 Ava Marie Cuvée Cru Chardonnay comes from the single parcel on the estate, whole bunch pressed and matured on the lees for 12 months. This has a delightful bouquet with plenty of mineralité and tension, the oak (5 to 10%) just in the background. Nicely detailed, precise, with a brisk, orange pith and saline finish, this is developing very well in bottle. The kind of Chardonnay I would slip into a Burgundy tasting just to trip someone up.
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Neal Martin
Neal Martin
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The 2023 Chardonnay Ava Marie Cuvée Cru marks the debut of this bottling for Restless River. It comes from a barrel selection, but in this case, just 20-30% was taken from the six best barrels so that Craig Wessels could preserve the regular blend. This has another potent nose, quite feisty in style, with touches of lanolin and beeswax developing in the glass. There’s also a very slight flor -like element, which Wessels mentioned is a typical phase that this goes through (the 2023 had only been in bottle for three months at the time of this tasting). The palate is well balanced, with notes of lime and orange rind, honeycomb and grilled walnut in the background. This is an intriguing Chardonnay that will be fascinating to watch develop in bottle.