Living Roots Wine & Co., Shale Creek Chardonnay, Finger Lakes, New York, USA 2023

In 2014, Mike and Meredith Hurley purchased Shale Creek Vineyard, a fixer-upper overlooking Keuka Lake with great potential. Their daughter, Colleen, and her husband (and winemaker) Sebastian, worked alongside them to rehab the land, including planting Chardonnay in 2016. Though the 2023 spring frost halved the yield, the limited-release wine from just two barrels still allowed for dreams to be realised. Hand-picked, then fermented wild with spontaneous malolactic fermentation, and aged neutral French oak for 9 months. A lovely takeaway from a challenging year with notes of jasmine, pomme fruits, brioche, and bright acidity.