Greyfriars Old Vine Chardonnay 2017

Our friends over at Greyfriars are continuing to push the boundaries in winemaking in Surrey, with a unique limited release of Old Vine Chardonnay 2017. This wine is made from a small parcel of grapes from the oldest (nearly 30 years old) vines on the vineyard. What’s more, it was wild fermented in 2-year-old oak before ageing for a further 6 months in oak.

The Greyfriars has got a great nose on it, with a fusion of baked apple, peach, tangerine peel and perfumed vanilla oak aromas.

It’s punchy and full of citrus intensity to taste, leading to crisp Granny Smith, white peach and tangy grapefruit. The oak is less pronounced on the palate, with more textural qualities and lightly spiced notes.

This Chardonnay was only bottled a couple of months ago, and I feel it needs a good 6-12 months to be truly ready to drink. However, it’s still showing a lot of character for the first still Chardonnay to be produced in Surrey.