The 2023 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay leads with an abundance of smoky, nutty, savory reduction. Here, the 2023 feels less exotic and softly spoken than the 2022 tasted alongside, with the 2023 showing more tension and focus. Neither has the extraordinary, otherworldly character of the 2021, also tasted alongside, yet the differences between the three is almost as exciting as having three vintages of Giaconda Chardonnay open at the same time. The 2023 only gets better the longer it is opened, revealing white peach, curry leaf, pink grapefruit acidity, blood orange, coffee grounds, graphite and mustard seeds. What a wine. The sheer intensity of flavor here is astonishing—it penetrates the palate and soars long into the memory. Far from pinching the finish, the reduction provokes a physical response, one that requires more drinking to satiate. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. I recently tasted this wine blind in Burgundy (2022 vintage), and while the wine was immediately recognizable to me, it really showed the specific personality of reduction at this estate, as compared to the others tasted that evening. The comparison was fascinating, in that Giaconda was revealed to be very savory, backed by voluminous, exotic fruit, while the other wines showed more verdancy to their fruit profiles, which in turn influenced the reduction. Fascinating and valuable. I also tasted this wine as its component parts when I visited the estate in January 2024, and seeing each of the barrels as individuals and then now witnessing the holistic conglomeration of them is very cool. The wine makes more sense to me, and it's infinitely more kaleidoscopic.

This is a tighter, maybe more refined expression of Giaconda Chardonnay, though it still has all the hallmarks of the estate. Plenty of struck match complexity, pink grapefruit, lemon oil, aniseed, oatmeal, fresh nectarine. It fairly sizzles with spice and cool acidity, plenty of flint and chalk dust texture, a nutty and savoury element here, a juicy citrus tang, dried pear with cinnamon, and closes zesty and electric, with a very very long finish. I can’t always say Giaconda has inherent drinkabilty early on, but this wine kind of does, and in that way, it’s probably my favourite release to date. It has great bone structure and cool vintage complexity. Of course it will cellar so well. It would drink well, I think, with a rabbit pulled out of a hat.

The enthralling 2023 Chardonnay Estate presents a more reductive expression from Giaconda. Smoky, gunflint aromas take the lead, set against a background of compact white peach and nectarine, with subtle citrus zest and a healthy serve of French oak. This is a more cerebral expression, with punchy acidity driving a long, laser-like, embryonic palate that is powerful, acid-driven and youthful. The 2023 is exceptional, though it slightly lacks the volume of flavour found in the best vintages.