Massey Dacta Chardonnay Marlborough, 2018

An oaked Chardonnay with lots of toasty, vanilla, buttery and custard aromas, it blew me away. Oaky flavours are complemented with peaches and passionfruit which are followed by a long lemon curd finish. It has medium weight on the palate with a good acidity. Pretty much left to its own devices, Chardonnay grapes were whole bunch pressed to barrel and not looked at again until the following spring. Wild yeast carried out the fermentation at 24°C, with certain barrels naturally going through malolactic fermentation. Ben checked the barrels the following spring to see which needed to complete fermentation and the final blend was bottled in January. If you like oaked Chardonnay, this is an absolute delight.