I grabbed a bottle of what I thought was Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc in Majestic, what I’d actually picked up was Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2004 from Marlborough, New Zealand It took my brain a while to catch up with my nose. I was very confused.
It’s also quite a golden lemon colour which added to my confusion. The creamy, oaky, aroma finally made me look at the bottle to work out what on earth had gone wrong, maybe some weird screw-cap taint. Once I’d re-calibrated my responses, that was quite a nice smell. It’s quite well developed with a nice hit of vanilla, but not so much that the fruit was completely overwhelmed.
It’s dry with a medium level of acidity, body and intensity. It tastes of buttery vanilla, with some light peaches and lemons. The flavour lasts well. 13.5% alcohol makes it quite powerful. At about £6-7 this is a good Chardonnay, but not an outstanding one. I think if I’m buying a white wine from Marlborough I’ll stick to Sauvignon Blanc for now.
