2018 Cordillera de los Andes, Chardonnay, Miguel Torres, Limarí Valley, Chile
£13.99, 64 branches of Waitrose and at waitrosecellar.com
There is a covert faction out there of determined and vehemently loyal palates with rather select desires. This rogue, outlying army of olfactory specialists has a lifelong and fully fledged passion for brazenly oaked chardonnay. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not the head-banging, death-metal, high-octane, marmalade-hued, vinous poison of yesteryear. We all agree that that 15% alcohol, American oak-fermented, hangover-syrup has thankfully been confined to the great wine spittoon in the sky, hopefully never to return. No, this fiercely loyal chardonnay sect adores full-bore, gloriously proportioned chardonnay that is rewarded with epic-quality carpentry because it is of such high quality and undeniable gustatory prowess.
I, too, love this style of wine. Big, proud, theatrical and delicious, these wines are responsible for a fast-growing crowd of oaked chardonnay disciples and they are sure to reveal themselves before too long. So, this week I have a wine especially for these ardent oak-lovers: 2018 Cordillera is a handsome, flavour-packed, expressive wine with perfectly balanced, but undoubtedly hedonistic levels of oak. The lemony intensity of the fruit carries the barrel flavours like a heady lemon meringue carries its pie crust!
Join the throng and let this wine show you the way. Spain’s most famous wine champion, Miguel Torres, set up an outpost in Chile more than 40 years ago – this wine is a perfect example of his extraordinary vision.
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)