Silver Heights Reserve Ningxia Chardonnay 2021 

The word ‘reserve’ tends to make me nervous as it can sometimes (often) translate to ‘blanketed in oak’. Not the case here, I’m happy to say. This sees 100% new French oak for 8 months before bottling, but it’s integrated nicely. Melon, red grapefruit and toasted brioche lead the charge aromatically, with the latter quick to take a backseat. Some air unlocks subtle baking spice complexity in the form of cinnamon and nutmeg that pair nicely with nashi pear, papaya and star fruit, followed by sweet pops of marzipan. There’s a lovely fruit and spice mix here, with freshness a defining feature working to foil the wine’s power. There’s a good burst of intensity through the palate – pear, melon, butter on toast, cedar and salted grapefruit glide through the mouth with volume and definition, plus marzipan in the background. There’s a lactic feel to the texture that wraps around it all, before a cut of pithy phenolics works with grapefruit acid to clean it up. Good length, solid intensity, 12.5% alcohol. It’s rich but well controlled and balanced. A smart wine.