English Still Wines
Simpsons Wine Estate The Roman Road Chardonnay 2020
There are some wines which you know will improve from cellaring for a few years but which you find hard to resist broaching as they are already wonderful. The Roman Road Chardonnay is one of those wines. Pale straw hued, with a complex matrix of tropical and citrus fruit, subtle butterscotch and flint on the nose, this Chardonnay shows excellent, ripe fruit intensity balanced with an elegant minerality, fresh citrus flavours and touches of cedar. It is named after the Roman Road vineyard, which is situated on the sunny, sheltered slopes of the North Downs of Kent, the Garden of England. It is elegant and pure, with a distinctive mineral quality that you would expect from fruit grown on these iconic chalk soils. This single vineyard, still white wine is created from Chardonnay grapes carefully selected for their maturity and concentration. This is the fifth vintage to be released. The 2018 vintage was awarded a Platinum Medal and the highest accolade of “Best in Show” in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020. This title is only bestowed upon the top 50 wines entered into what is the largest and most influential, international wine competition. The 2020 vintage is a very worthy follow-up, reflecting the superb growing season and harvest of that year. Created using Estate-grown Burgundian still clone 548, the grapes were hand-harvested during the last week of October in order to find the perfect balance of aroma, flavour and acidity. The juice undergoes primary and malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks in a state-of-the-art winery, before ageing for nine months in French oak barrels. The Simpsons’ vineyards occupy glorious positions on the sunny, sheltered slopes of the North Downs of Kent, protected from the whimsy of the English climate by ancient woodland and anchored in the iconic chalky soils so highly revered in the world of both still and sparkling wine. On their French wine estate, the award-winning Domaine Sainte Rose in the Languedoc region, the Simpsons have always pursued the cleaner, truer flavours of the grape, and are now bringing this savoir-faire to their English vineyards. With rootstock meticulously matched to the soil and a new world-class winery just minutes from the vines, quality is the watchword.
£24.99
per bottle
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