In last February’s issue, I wrote up the longest-named wine in my wine-reviewing career: MV bonkers zombie robot alien monsters from the future ate my brain (sur lie) Chardonnay, from Sugrue South Downs.
This dual-vintage mash-up of wines from 2022 and 2023 pushed still Chardonnay a few more paces into the future while introducing the time-honoured sparkling-method of multi-vintage blending to the still-wine playing field! And, thankfully, it was, and still is, a good wine.
Dermot Sugrue mentioned to me he was going to continue making this style of wine. My only advice was to remain vigilant in order to capture and endeavour to maintain freshness. Wines of this ilk have an unpredictable tendency to change direction without warning, so they need regular monitoring!
So, when I tasted this year’s V2 release, I was on edge. Could Dermot augment the appeal of this wine while elevating freshness with the addition of the 2024 vintage in the mix? We all know 2024 was a difficult vintage, and I suspect this has actually helped this wine, because bonkers V2 (£29.00, www.sugruesouthdowns.com) is bright, geometrically pleasing and even more memorable than the first release, given its singular purity and drive.
And so, we come to this month’s twin-headed theme. There is a very rapid improvement curve happening right now in our English Chardonnays. Sparkling wine expert Wiston has released a dual-vintage still Chardy. Oastbrook has always made useful Chardonnays, but their 2023 release is electric, and Marbury, well, Marbury is this month’s out and out scoop. The sophomore slump was never in question with Charlie Holland’s twin second releases, and yet the step up in quality over last year’s epic 2023s is possibly the largest single advance over twelve months I have ever witnessed in our trade.
We are not only embracing still Chardonnays in our country, but also unlocking their code, harnessing their power, and conquering their challenges. Read on for more detailed observations on the wines mentioned above.
Wiston, Tank Five Chardonnay
£27.00
Wiston’s Tank Five combines two vintages (2022 with 65% of the blend and 2023 with 35%), two vineyards (Broadwoods in 2022 and Findon in 2023) and two distinctly different styles of winemaking (Broadwoods in steel and Findon in oak for nine months) to build a wine that I have no doubt is more interesting and delicious than the individual components in isolation.
In fact, the yin and yang combo in the glass appears perfectly balanced and, in such harmony, that they are one, probably with no memory whatsoever of being made from two jigsaw pieces in the first place.
Unlike the Sugrue wine, this is a much pithier and grippier Chardonnay that craves creamy sauces or cheesy dishes to exercise its ninja-toned acidity. I would venture that restaurants ought to take note here, as this is a limited release that gives sommeliers a genuine point of difference.
In terms of descriptors, I wouldn’t say it was Chablis-shaped even though it might seem, on first glance, it has these dimensions. Instead, I think we should coin a new, more accurate term, perhaps ‘classic English still Chardonnay’, while appreciating that there is already an admirable spectrum in place accommodating a variety of shapes and sizes, like those featured in this article.
2023 Oastbrook Estate Vineyard, Chardonnay
£23.50
Interestingly, I tasted a 2022 Oastbrook Reserve Chardonnay alongside my featured wine, and this beauty came out on top.
Personal taste is the overriding factor in this opinion, because legions of wine lovers will undoubtedly fall for the Reserve cuvée because it underwent malolactic fermentation and spent 12 months in two-year-old Burgundy barrels. This has imbued it with a breadth and exoticism that makes people go weak at the knees, but I only had eyes for the younger, non-Reserve wine!
This time, three-year-old barrels were used, albeit briefly, and it was bottled in Spring 2024 with no malo employed. The result is a wine with jaw-dropping balance, with flashes of orange blossom among its lithe, silky palate.
What I most admire here is the ability to gather all the flavours associated with a great Chardonnay, while delivering them in a slender, pliable, and yet hedonistic package. And to top it all off, the finish is gorgeously refreshing thanks to the boost of acidity that remained in situ!
2024 Marbury, Crouch Valley Chardonnay
£40.00
www.stswithinswineshippers.com
I filed my copy for this article before
9 May, when the embargo on the 2024 Marbury pair was lifted. It is worth noting that the 2024 Marbury Pinot Noir (£45.00, from the merchants listed) already vies for the title of most beautiful English Pinot Noir to date, and I will elucidate more in due course.
But this month’s star, in keeping with my theme, is Charlie Holland’s second-ever Marbury Chardonnay, the scintillating 2024. The reduction in new oak from around one-third to a mere 15% in 2024 has helped to put the quality of the Chardonnay fruit used here on a glittering pedestal.
Long hang times, on account of conditions, meant that the fruit harvested in the South Bank, Martins Lane and Canney vineyards was of the most intricate and detailed quality imaginable, and Charlie has not lost one ounce of its potential. This is a classic middle-weight English still Chardonnay with a perfume, flavour, and length one usually associates with wines at three-digit prices.
I expected a lot, and it turned out to be more than I could have hoped for. In addition, I tasted this wine over an hour and a half, and it kept getting better in the glass. The future has never been brighter for our Chardonnay Conquerors!
