Vignerons Schmölzer & Brown Thorley Chardonnay 2023

This blossoms beautifully in the glass. It’s tight and fine, but firm in its unfurling. Flint, fine cedar, salted pastry dough, and hard cheese rind intermingle with lemon pith and almond to set the scene. With air, more fruit presence appears in crushed green apple and lime zest, along with tonic and homemade lemonade. River stone minerality also comes through, adding interest. The palate has lovely lees-derived creaminess to fill out what would otherwise be a taut and tensile frame. Pastry dough, pear, lemon and lime zest, tonic, almond meal, and green apple skin glide through the mouth before a cut of bright lemon acidity pulls it long through the finish. This may not have the concentration of other Thorley releases due to the 2023 vintage, but the team at VS&B have still managed to craft a Chardonnay of trademark energy, tension, texture, and complexity.