2003 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay. Wairau and Brancott Valleys, Marlborough, New Zealand. 13.5% alcohol. $30.
Light gold with restrained scents of oak, banana, and waxy pineapple. Flavors echo the nose but are sharper and less sweet. Just adequate acidity and the wine finishes much too quickly while tasting of oak and minerals. Cloudy Bay’s Chardonnay is composed mainly of the Mendoza clone with some UCD6 and a smattering of the Burgundian clones added to the mix. The wine ferments in French oak (mostly old oak) and ages for an extended time on its lees. Most of the wine is allowed to go through malolactic. Drink now to 2008. 85 points.