2018 Lion’s Tooth Chardonnay
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A full-bodied, opulent wine, the 2018 Lion's Tooth Chardonnay reveals hints of toasted hazelnuts on the nose, but the emphasis is squarely on the ripe peach and nectarine fruit, backed by zesty pineapple and citrus and hints of lees-derived custardy richness. Broad, mouthfilling and generous, it balances those characters with plenty of lip-smacking length on the finish. Delicious now, but built to age for at least 5-6 years, it's a noteworthy effort from this postage-stamp-sized estate.
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
Altre recensioni e punteggi
The first vintage under the ownership of US businessman Brian Sheth and New Zealand MW Steve Smith. This was a transition year, and very low-cropping, with a high incidence of powdery mildew. The resulting wine is sumptuous, intensely concentrated and richly fruited in style, reminiscent of peaches, with a saline, chalky texture on the finish. This is a fantastic site and I look forward to seeing growing refinement as the new team tweaks the winemaking.
Lighter soils (more limestone in the topsoil) than Field of Fire, more exposed, faces east and ripens a little earlier, always more golden in colour. Same winemaking as for the Field of Fire Chardonnay 2018. To be released April 2020. Pale gold. Smells richer and riper than the Field of Fire with less reductive character and more apricot as well as ripe lemon. More spicy on the palate and broader in the mouth, tastes softer and more gentle. Lower malic acid because of the site, explains Steve Smith. Generous fruit but still in balance and the aftertaste is still salty and crisp, the acidity seems to build and gets more salty and mouth-watering. Smith attributes this to the limestone in topsoil but admits, ‘I don’t know the mechanism’. (JH)