Okay. I’m going to start with a couple of confessions. You’ll notice that at the time of writing that there is a dearth of white wine content on this website which is largely down to me sticking to my guns and knowing what I like. I also chose Tempranillo over Chardonnay in a recent pole about which grapes people prefer which, upon reflection, and after having tasted this little beauty of a wine, I thoroughly regret.

Chardonnay isn’t normally associated with Italy so I was intrigued when I stumbled across the MonteMaggio range on Amazon Prime. I had no clue what they were going to taste like, so, like most of us, I bought the wines using their attractive labels and the Amazon reviews as a guide.

The label for the Chardonnay depicts the upper torso of a female carrying a wicker basket full of grapes. The image itself reminds me of how both men and women would be depicted in Roman & Etruscan frescoes and mosaics from 6th century BC onwards. It’s very striking, and even though I was not able to get a closer look at the bottle, I was drawn to it.

Delivery was swift as per usual with Prime and the wines were very well packaged. The Chardonnay was so well packaged in fact that I struggled freeing the bottle from its protective polystyrene cover which allowed Dane to quip that I was struggling to get my cork out…

Speaking of corks, this is my first experience with a glass one. It was fairly easy to open and MonteMaggio state that it helps preserve the taste of the wine for longer, needless to say that on this occasion I could only take their word for it.

The wine itself is a lovely, clear, pale golden colour in the glass. The nose is clean and I was immediately hit with aromas of tropical fruit and hints of butter. On the palate is where this wine truly shows its quality though. Initially I got passionfruit accompanied with the slightest hints of toasty and bready notes as it went down. The butter really comes through here too, and, accompanied by solid notes of honey, meant that I was bowled over by it’s velvety mouthfeel. Every gulp left me wanting more and with every glass new flavours would emerge. By the end of the bottle I had counted mango, passionfruit and strong notes of banana accompanied by honey, butter, cream, toasted nut and bread making it seriously complex and a wine of exceptional quality. It’s fairly acidic too, meaning that it will pair well with foods such as fish, cured meat and pasta.

This is seriously good Chardonnay which reminded me of a good quality Meursault or even Puligny-Montrachet. It’s colour, creaminess and toasty notes confused me because I felt like I was tasting an aged chardonnay so you can imagine my surprise when I realised it was barely a year old. Its price point is another highlight too, with a bottle coming in at £15.40 at the time of writing. Considering that you’d expect to pay upwards of £35 for a good Meursault then I would consider the MonteMaggio an absolute bargain.

Fattoria di MonteMaggio can be found in Tuscany, near the villages of Radda and Panzano in Italy’s Chianti region. The winery itself is very picturesque and they offer plenty of wine tours to suit your level of expertise. They pride themselves on being organic and their range of wines include:

• Three Chianti Classico’s of varying age.
• Quinta Essentia di MonteMaggio IGT which is 60% Merlot and 40% Sangiovese.
• Torre di MonteMaggio which is 100% Merlot.
• Ilaia di MonteMaggio, a red Tuscan wine made from 100% Pugnitello.
• Rosé di MonteMaggio which is made from 100% Sangiovese.

So, if you’re looking for an outstanding quality Chardonnay without wanting to break the bank then look no further than this absolute stunner. I honestly don’t think you can get any better for the price point and it’s wines like this that are really helping me fall in love with white wine. If you’re interested in the Chardonnay then you can find it to purchase on Amazon Prime here. If you find yourself interested in Fattoria di MonteMaggio and want to learn more then please give them some love on their website here.

So bravo MonteMaggio, you have created an outstanding Chardonnay at an outstanding price. All that’s left for me to do is to book my flights to Florence and come and visit your winery to sample some more outstanding wine. See you in the Spring!

Oh and congratulations on being rated as the top wine I tasted in 2019. It is an accolade that is fully deserved!