Butter & Wood Chardonnay Grande Reserve

For this top-quality Chardonnay, naturally aged in oak barrels, we travel to the south of France. Here, 12 kilometers from Narbonne, in the town of Ouveillan, lies this beautiful winery, which dates back to 1936. The vineyards are renowned in the area for producing a superb harvest. Full-bodied and powerful, something winemaker Francois is more than proud of.

Wood aging for the Butter & Wood Chardonnay

The Butter & Wood vineyards are among the finest vineyards the L'adoré winery has. The oldest and most vigorous vines simply produce the most beautiful and full bunches. These are planted in a soil of rutted and calcareous loam, giving the vines everything they need to produce a full and powerful harvest. All bunches for this premium wine, called the Grande Reserve, are hand-harvested and rigorously selected. Only the finest bunches are used in this white wine. After pressing, this Butter & Wood Chardonnay undergoes a long oak aging period of 9 to 12 months. Some new wooden barrels are used to further enhance the wine's fullness. This white wine is a kind of beloved, and we even mentioned that on the label, as Francois explained, because L'Adoré means "The Beloved." Well, we're in love with it too! What a full-bodied wine!

Full and very powerful this Butter & Wood Chardonnay Grande Reserve

Upon opening the bottle, we know exactly where the name comes from! Butter & Wood, or butter and wood, are immediately noticeable. We take a tall glass and see a golden yellow color with a golden sheen. It clings to the glass and gives us impressions of vanilla, wood, butter, tropical fruit, apricots, and a touch of fresh peach. On the palate, this Butter & Wood Chardonnay leaves the tongue feeling full and creamy. Beautiful flavors of exotic fruit, accompanied by vanilla and peach. On the back of the tongue and against the cheeks, a touch of lime freshness and a light spice. The finish is pure love, smooth and full-bodied with great depth.

And if you'd like to know exactly what wood-aging does for the flavor, check out this blog post about white wine aged in wood.

Curious about what else L'adoré's &Wood series has to offer? Then check out the Fruit & Wood Viognier Grande Reserve . A stunning Viognier with subtle wood aging for the perfect balance.