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Buy OnlineA new addition to our French Chardonnay offerings, the Montsablé 'Réserve' Chardonnay is the step up from the value packed Montsablé Chardonnay that many of you have become fans off since we started stocking it a couple of years ago. The importer showed us a sample of this, and we were instantly hooked. A noticeable step up, this gives you an excellent example of what makes French Chardonnay so great, without the eyewatering high prices so normally associated with them.
Montsablé Réserve represents the pinnacle of site selection within the Haute Vallée de l’Aude, the coolest of all the Mediterranean regions of France due to altitude and influence of the cool Atlantic wind, the Vent Cers. Altitude, climate and limestone rich soils combine to produce outstanding fruit, with which we create wines of elegance and freshness.
The specific Haute Vallée sites are perfect for Chardonnay due to slower ripening and better levels of acidity. The vines are 20-30 years old and grow on Argilo Calcaires soils. The wine is left on its lees to add complexity of flavour, texture and weight whilst retaining refreshing ripe fruit character. Critically, 30% of the wine is aged in French wood for 6 months adding further creamy complexity.
The floral aromas and white peach flavours are complemented by vanilla, toasty notes, a lovely creamy texture and mineral tones through to a classy finish.
94/100 & Top Rank #1 French Chardonnay Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, January 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"Elegant, silken-textured wine that reminds me of Chablis but with softer acidity. Saline/oyster shell, grapefruit, vanilla, and nicely integrated spicy oak. Good concentration. Accessible now but no rush."
5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, November 2023 (2021 Vintage)
"Complex and engaging with ripe peach, vanilla, cedar and golden pastry aromas, it's concentrated and plush in the mouth, delivering excellent weight and depth. Gorgeously composed and expressed with richly textured mouthfeel, finishing superbly long and expansive. At its best: now to 2028."
92/100 Cameron Douglas MS, November 2023 (2021 Vintage)
"The bouquet and palate match with a rich nutty and spice attack softened with a fleshy stone fruit and citrus quality. A smooth satin -cream touch with a core of yellow stone fruit, apple and wood spice flavours, fine tannins and medium+(ish) acid line, A fuller-bodied expression with a decent length and power. Best drinking from 2023 through 2028."
92/100 Ken Gargett, WinePilot.com, January 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"The wind known as the Vent Cers, together with the altitude, contributes to this region in the Mediterranean, the Haute Vallée de l’Aude, being the coolest in the district. Deep straw in colour, 30% of the wine spends six months in French oak to improve its complexity. There is a degree or two more intensity to be found here and a hint of oak influence. Notes of melons, cashews, orange rind and stonefruit complemented by a lovely sweet core of orange and peaches. It is well structured with a lingering finish. Enjoy it now or at any time over the next two to four years."
