Smith and Evans Pinot Chardonnay

This is it. 
 After three years outdoors in all weathers risking life and limb on potentially lethal agricultural machinery - the first 600 Bottles.
We really concentrate on sparkling wine and  I suppose that for us the still wine has been partly in its shadow. We made it mainly just as something good for us to drink and perhaps a bit to sell. We are now thinking that we should take it a bit more seriously. It's good.

For something made from young vines it has real structure and balance. Admitedly it's not Comte Lafon Le Montrachet Grand Cru 1996 and the Marquis de Laguiche won't be losing too much sleep but, it's like a well made Chablis but less neutral with more aromatics.
 The only thing to do as soon as it arrived, road test it -
Day 1 Nasi Goreng Noodles Salmon and Pinot Chardonnay.
Obviously, the first thing we did was the sitting in the sun drinking your own wine overlooking your own vineyard cliche. Where are daytime TV cameras when you need them?  Then dinner - It works with spicy foods.  Today, a visit to the fishmonger for it's shellfish credentials.

This is big for us, all the research in the world can tell you  that a vineyard had great potential but, you honestly never really know until you taste the finished wine. There is still an element of mystery as to why one site works better than another. In Burgundy a wine that sells for £100 can be right next door to one that only fetches £10. This is what makes it so interesting.
If we had the money, we would happily drink the whole lot ourselves although 600 bottles for two people in a year is a bit much even for us. The news is, the wine is good and we love it  but, as the vines root down and really start to express themselves, we now know that one day the potential is there to make something really special.

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