Enate Chardonnay Barrica 2023

Enate was established in 1991 in Salas Altas, in the D.O. Somontano at the foot of the Aragonese Pyrenees, where higher-altitude vineyards and cool nights slow ripening and keep acidity even as the fruit reaches full flavour. This barrel-fermented Chardonnay is aged seven months in French oak, and the barrel work drives its style. Fermenting and ageing in oak holds the wine on its lees and allows a slow oxygen exchange through the wood, building a creamy texture, a toasty, nutty depth and gentle vanilla and spice, while the ripe fruit of a warm, sunny site fills out the mid-palate at fourteen degrees of alcohol. The wine is bright golden. The nose is complex and generous, with tropical fruit, pineapple and grapefruit lifting over hazelnut, toasted bread and a light beeswax note. The palate is full and rounded, the oak well integrated, closing long with a savoury, nutty edge balanced by the altitude-driven acidity. Serve at 11 to 13 degrees in a large white wine glass. It suits richer fish and white meats in cream or butter sauces.