Abbotts & Delaunay Zephyr Chardonnay 2012 Wine Review

Abbotts & Delaunay Zephyr Chardonnay 2012

Limoux AC, France

Community Score:89/100

Community Reviews: 10

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Price: $26.95

Drink: 2013-2018

Bottle size: 750 ml

Alcohol: 13%

Sweetness: Extra Dry

Wine Type: White Wine

Winery: Abbotts & Delaunay

Agent: Philippe Dandurand Wines Ltd.

Natalie's Score: 90/100

Creamy, rich and round French Chardonnay with layers of butterscotch and toffeed goodness from generous oak aging. Full-bodied with a voluptuous texture and mouth-feel. Pair with roasted chicken.

Chardonnay food pairings: fish cooked in sauce, seafood, creamed mushrooms, cheese tart.

This Abbotts & Delaunay Zephyr Chardonnay 2012 was reviewed on April 15, 2015 by Natalie MacLean

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Pricing & Stock Information

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3760011571537
$26.95
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Reviews and Ratings

Astrid Young - Sommelier ISG CAPS rated this wine as 91/100 with the following review:

Smoky notes hit the nose first, with grilled stone fruits showing beneath. Nice full malo style, buttery and creamy textured, slight oxidative note as the smoke clears, echoing more grilled peaches and a lemon curd note. Would be delicious with cedar planked salmon or smoked Gouda.

Matt Steeves - Certified Sommelier rated this wine as 91/100 with the following review:

Lovely golden colour, with toasty oak notes, caramel, butter, and pineapple. A fantastic naked Chardonnay from the south of France. Full bodied and very expressive. Tasted April 2015. 91 points. Matt Steeves - www.quercusvino.ca

Douglas McMillan rated this wine as 90/100 with the following review:

Buttered bread and toffee up front with stonefruit and white pepper as well. The taste follows, and the acidity balances it nicely to give it a very pleasant mouth-feel.

Olivier de Maisonneuve rated this wine as 90/100 with the following review:

Oaky and mineral nose, quite intense and fairly complex when you let it breath a bit. It is also flavourful, but it blends well with food, accompanying it rather than overpowering it. Lobster, crab legs, and St-Jacques would probably be a good pairing,as would fish with a bearnaise sauce. A lively acidity keeps it afloat. I like it!

Sean O'Regan - Certified Sommelier rated this wine as 89/100 with the following review:

Pale gold, toasty, dusty mineral, honeydew melon and some tropical notes hiding underneath. Rich and creamy, full bodied, with apple, lemon citrus, butterscotch and spicy oak notes. Good complexity and delivers a lengthy finish.
Tasted April 2015

Jennifer Havers - WSET Level 3 rated this wine as 89/100 with the following review:

Soft, and very aromatic. Aromas include lemony citrus, with a hint of vanilla and some hazelnut, subtle, but rounds out the palate. Full bodied, balanced acidity with some oak to soften it up, but not overwhelm. Perfect with roasted chicken.

Philippe Perreault - Sommelier rated this wine as 84/100 with the following review:

Deep golden color.

Aromas of Nuts, oak, toasted bread mineral and vanilla.

The palate is edgy, buttery and very long.

Pair it with quail with mushroom sauce or creamy cheese.

Serve it at 10-12 degrees.

Can be aged 7-8 years yet.

Tom Vigeant reviewed this wine as follows:

Slightly toasted bread with melting butter overlay orchard fruit on the nose. Rich, creamy mouthfeel, notes of smoke, oak and butter dominate from start to finish. Grilled chicken, smoked cheeses or oysters baked with edam and bacon bits come to mind for food pairings.

Serve at 10°-12°C. The grapes for this wine come from three terroirs: the upper Aude valley which gives the wine its mineral notes and lovely structure, the Autan terroir which lends floral aromas and notes of dried fruit and a Mediterranean-influenced terroir which brings notes of ripe fruit.

The grapes are handpicked and the whole grapes are pressed. The juice is coldsettled for 12 hours. The must is racked off into barrels for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation which is 70% completed in order to preserve a touch of vivacity.

The wine is aged on the natural lees in oak barrels for eight months (30% new oak). A small proportion is stirred regularly (bâtonnage) over a two-month period.

Green-gold in colour with silvery grey highlights. A fine, subtle, fruity nose (apricot, citrus, preserved lemon) with white flower aromas (nettle, jasmine, syringa). Notes of meringue and marzipan.

Lovely, refreshing, long, mineral structure. Very well-balanced. This wine boasts remarkable length and lovely freshness finishing off on a note of lemon tart.

Source: Agent (Philippe Dandurand Wines Ltd.)

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Abbotts & Delaunay Zephyr Chardonnay 2012 Wine Review

Natalie's Score: 90/100

Pricing & Stock Information