Sonoma-Cutrer The Cutrer Chardonnay 2022

Drink it now or cellar for up to 10 years. No need to decant, but best to open it half an hour before service. Internationally known for producing top-quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines, Sonoma-Cutrer is a Sonoma County winery founded in 1973. Its wines combine classic Burgundy winemaking methods with innovative California style. The Cutrer vineyard, from which the grapes for this wine are sourced, is located in the Russian River Valley. Here, the vines are rooted in soil that is an ancient seabed, capable of storing heat during the day and releasing it at night. This favors a slow and uniform ripening of the grapes. The vineyard is also characterized by different microclimates, which together with the diversity of clones planted ensure the production of a full-bodied and complex wine. After night-harvesting and whole-cluster pressing, fermentation takes place in oak barrels. The wine is then aged on the lees for 7 months, assembled, and left to rest for a further 5 months in used oak (3 years old). In the glass, the wine reveals a bright straw-yellow color. Its aromatic profile is broad and ripe with notes of bread crust and brioche, ripe pear and caramelized nuts, baked apples, and sweet spices. On the palate, it is rich and velvety, elegant and soft with a well-balanced acidity and a long and delicately spicy finish. Try it with spicy pumpkin cream soup, scampi risotto, and shrimp curry.

Price: £33.65 from 8wines UK