World's End Rebel Rebel Chardonnay 2014

It's date night, you've cooked the perfect meal for two and all you need now is to choose the wine to go with it. But then there's a zombie apocalypse (talk about unfortunate timing) so what do you do? Well, we have a plan: you take your mates car, collect your beloved, stop off at Oddbins, pick up a bottle of the appropriately-titled World's End Rebel Rebel Chardonnay.

This wine has complex aromas of vanilla, pink grapefruit and a crisp, pure-fruited finish. Head back to the flat. Then you could read the back label and discover that it was made in California by one of Bordeaux's 'garagiste' pioneers and is made in a restrained, European style and even has a dash of Riesling in the blend. You won't even notice the zombies.

Hailed by Robert Parker as a ‘visionary’ and 'The English Winemaking Guru', Jonathan Maltus hails from Château Teyssier in Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, where he produces a number of award-winning wines, including the iconic Le Dome.

He moved to California and World’s End represents the beginning of his extension into the Napa Valley, after 18 years producing award winning wines in Saint-Emilion. His adventure in Napa started in 2008 when he started importing wooden vats and sorting tables to produce Napa, to produce wines with a French slant from fruit handpicked mainly from the vineyards of Andy Beckstoffer – some of the finest in Napa.

The ranges tend to be completely influenced by the team’s experience as avant-garde winemakers, or 'garagistes', during the 1990's in Saint-Emilion and have a French lilt to them.

Rebel Rebel is a cool climate white that brings traditional Napa Chardonnay into a modern era. The wine is sourced from the Beckstoffer vineyards, situated in the Los Carneiros region just north of San Francisco. The grapes are hand-picked and sorted (allowing the removal of all damaged or sunburnt grapes while at the same time respecting the quality of the fruit) and transferred as whole bunches into a pneumatic press. To preserve the fresh fruit flavours, the juice is chilled before vinification and fermentation is kept under 14C. Oak is used sparingly so as to not overwhelm the fresh minerality and fruit vibrancy. Like all of World’s End’s wines, blending trials are conducted in Saint-Emilion, France.

This chardonnay has a white gold robe and the nose is intense and complex, with aromas of pear drops, fresh pineapple, pink grapefruit and hints of vanilla. On the palate, the attack is crisp and fruity with a hint of oak. It is nicely weighted, with a long, lingering finish.