Creamery Chardonnay 2024

This is Chardonnay in the classic rich Californian mould: 100% barrel fermented with full malolactic conversion, then seven months in a mix of American and French oak. Tropical fruit and Bosc pear sit under warm oak aromatics, and the palate runs to creme brulee and buttered toast before fresh acidity tidies up the finish. Fruit comes from Monterey, Paso Robles and Clarksburg. If lean, flinty Chardonnay leaves you cold, this is the other end of the dial.

The oak split is the point. Sixty percent of those barrels are American and forty percent French, and American oak is where the buttered toast and vanilla richness come from. Seven months is long enough to soak that in without drying the fruit out.

The name is a joke the makers are happy to admit to. No creamery is involved, just Chardonnay pushed as far down the rich and creamy road as it will go. Mark Rasmussen, with more than 35 vintages behind him, oversees the winemaking with Steven Decosta leading the team. For 2024 the fruit was drawn from several Californian regions and blended for balance.

Serve it cool rather than ice cold, so the texture shows. It wants rich food. Roast chicken, creamy pasta or grilled prawns with butter will all keep up with it.