Pulenta Estate Chardonnay 2015

In the 90s we were intimately introduced to the cigarette-smoking, bathroom scale-loathing, Chardonnay-loving Bridget Jones, most famous for her mascara-stained episodes in pursuit of Mark Darcy. But it may not just have been Mr Darcy that was upsetting her. Perhaps she was drinking the wrong Chardonnay. We feel sure that, if only she'd had a glass of Pulenta, she would have been twitching her rabbit tail very happily indeed. How could she fail, with its rich round texture, elegant frame, ripe stone fruits, toasty oak and warm hazelnut nuances, we ask you. She should have gone to Oddbins.

The Pulenta family has been involved in Argentinian viticulture for three generations. Sons of the well-known vine grower Antonio Pulenta and descendants of Italian immigrants Eduardo and Hugo Pulenta, they created winery in 2002. Their mission is to produce a limited series of great quality wines that are proudly Argentinian.

The vineyard was planted in 1992 and is situated in the prized Alto Agrelo region of Mendoza at 980 metres above sea level. The Chardonnay grapes are harvested manually for this wine at the start of March before being transferred to the winery for sorting. The selected grapes are then subjected to a pre-fermentation cold maceration for two hours followed by gentle pressing. Fermentation was carried out 50% in tanks and 50% in French oak barriques, where malolactic fermentation was allowed to occur spontaneously. The wine was then aged for around 10 months in new French barriques.

The resulting wine explodes with aromas of ripe tropical fruit flavours, with pineapple, guava and melon unfolding into lush toasty vanilla and toasty nuances from the French oak ageing. The palate is rich and unctuous tempered by the perfect balance of fresh acidity and a long lingering finish.