Seeing as this lockdown life isn’t ending any time soon and social distancing means that we won’t be heading into London anytime soon, I thought I’d do a few of these wine tasting posts. Myself and Sam love wine and we recently got three bottles to try from Independent Wine. Independent Wine is a boutique shop that stocks carefully curated bottles of the best wines that Italy has to offer. I’m a big fan of Italian wine and the country itself, having experienced wonderful Rome a couple of years ago. We were also meant to head over to Milan in March but alas Covid-19 had other plans. The first of the three wines I’m reviewing is the Fantasia Chardonnay 2017 from Mendoza Argentina.
*This is a collaborative post.
I don’t know whether everyone does this but after a funny experience with my mum in London, I’m always cautious of the ABV of a wine. ABV is the alcohol by volume and I usually will look for something around the 12-13% mark. Anything under that and I can start to tell the difference in quality – call me a wine snob but I can’t help it.
The winemaker of this Chardonnay is Mauricio Lorca. Lorca was actually intending to go to medical school but a visit from a group of viticulture students made him change his mind about the career path he would take. He’s a winemaker who has certainly worked his way up to create some truly exquisite wines as part of his collection. For some reason, I’ve always been a little put off by picking a chardonnay when it comes to being at a bar or restaurant. I don’t know whether it’s because Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are the more popular options here in the UK that I automatically think it’s not going to be a tasty wine.
The first thing I notice about the wine is the colour. Now I’ve done a little bit of research into describing wine colours, so bear with me here as I’m still learning. This colour closely resembles what I’ve seen referred to as lemon. It’s not that typical white wine colour that you’d expect with perhaps sweeter wines, as this one is a dry wine.
Smell
The smell is Sam’s domain as he loves to pretend he’s a wine connoisseur and therefore swirls the wine, sticks his nose right in the class before taking a flamboyant swig. For me, I give it a quick sniff and down the hatch, it goes. However, I’m trying to get better at the smelling part, although the temptation to drink the wine straight away is hard to put off. There’s definitely notes of citrus that I got from smelling the wine first but there’s also mention of melon and pear too. There’s also a touch of oak added to help with the complexity of the flavour.
Taste
White wine was probably the last type of wine that I got my taste palette used to. Rose came first, then red wine followed by white wine. It’s one of those that I’m very particular on because I hate anything that’s too dry and leaves a sour taste in the mouth. This though is like drinking water and the after taste isn’t harsh. It’s a really bright and fresh taste that consists of white flower, pineapple and green apple. I can certainly taste the green apple in this wine and I can see why it would make for an excellent pairing with fish. I would recommend this to be a great wine to enjoy during the summer, whether it’s a dinner outdoors with friends in your garden or a cheeky beverage while out for a picnic.
Price
The price of the Chardonnay is just £11.71 and granted you probably could find cheaper in a supermarket but when it comes to fine wines and restaurant-quality wines, this is one that I feel would be a steal. Myself and Sam had no problem getting through this wine over the course of 24 hours and I’d happily buy it again, especially if I appeared on the menu in any restaurants in London.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post with Independent Wine. All words are my own.
