Reduced from £7.99

Tropical fruit is promised on the bottle and that is what you get followed by a lovely creamy oak finish. The oak reminds me of the M&S Te Muna but this is nearly half the price of that beautiful wine. The fruit is good too although slightly sweet. After several days of opening a honey note appeared. I like this wine. New world in style but very drinkable and that lovely long oak finish is divine. Great value at the offer price.

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tribs

Sir, are you keeping it a secret ? From whom did you buy M&S ? or.....

Link to another appreciative comment from lovers of the wonderful nectar.

What was the ABV Mr T.

http://humblegrape.blogspot.com/2010/07 ... onnay.html

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Duncan

I've editied the title




Dunc, that link has it spot on. ABV on the website is 14% which surprises me as there was no obvious heat.

Waitrose Mont Gras Chardonnay

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tribs

Cheers for that - another goodie chard from Chile then. They are getting the hang of it .

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Duncan

Well now, all I got was a huge whack of sticking plaster on opening which continued in the glass. Could not be tempted into a second glass. Have moved on the the next "M"...

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Sticking plaster? There was none of that here.

Take the bottle back. Thats not right at all.

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tribs

I'm not used to "day 2", but this has improved. Not much recursive stink, and a little added creaminess. Something weird as well and new to me....salt ?????

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

It did occur to me that there were 3 different vintages in my store. Is yours definitely the 09, Ba?

Salt???? Mine was very clean.

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tribs

Yep, '09 'twere. Have another, will keep it for a bit.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Second one much better. A pal quite liked it, but it is still not one that I would buy again

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

I have revisited this only to find disappointment. What is noticeably absent from my original TN is how sweet this is and the creamy oak is not what I remembered. Inconsistency between batches, changing palate or a bit of age? I'm not sure. I have another so will see what that one is like sometime.

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tribs

Creamy Oak - where is it now ?

The particular vines of MontGras were planted in 1993, the Chardonnay in a soil composed mostly of clay to hold in water allowing a long fruit ripening period. 40% of this wine was aged for 6 months in oak - 30% new oak barrels, 40% 2nd-use, and 30% 3rd use. The idea is that the newer the oak barrel, the stronger the oak flavor in the wine. So by splitting the vintage and only aging a small amount in new oak, and not letting some touch oak at all, the Chardonnay won't be overwhelmed and end up like the bottles of wood some people dread tasting when they hear "Chardonnay."

Disappointment - I can see that - I haven't bought this MG reserva. But I feel a bit responsible for posting that blog........
The Montes Alpha signature chardonnay (in a different league, I'm now beginning to realise), that we particularly liked cost £12.99 now - Damn. It was £9 or so a few months back, and I missed scoring 3, or more.

That blogspot write-up is for this wine, but sold in the US market ! Are they different wines ?? The Waitrose web site notes for this wine, dont even mention the use of oak - Well, I can't see it on the page.

Damn nuisance, this lack of detail by the Retailers. We have to do them to Know.

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Duncan

Actually a lot better yesterday evening. Its been open a few days. Creamy oak is more noticeable now and it does not appear quite as sweet. Very strange. I think the sweetness masked the oak.

I believe I have one of those wonderful Montes Alpha Chardonnay. Its not been available round here for some time. I always check the shelves for it. It's good stuff, but they know they can demand a higher price now.

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tribs

Another day has done wonders. It is now pretty much as I remembered it. It is still sweet, but seems more like ripe tropical fruit rather than sugar. Creamy oak coming to the fore too. Day 4+ wine it would seem and another that you need to be able to handle sweet, but I like it.

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tribs