Stone Castle Reserve Chardonnay Rahovec Valley 2018

The Data

Country Kosovo

Appellation Rahovec Valley

Varietal Chardonnay

Retail Price $24

ABV 13.5%

Score 4 Stars/91 points

In the Glass

Appearance

Brilliant, medium gold/green color.

Aromatics

The nose is moderately intense offering scents of apricot stone and grapefruit with supporting notes of honeysuckle, jasmine, and kiwi.

Flavor

The palate confirms the nose delivering a ripe orchard fruits-driven core with flavors of pineapple, lemon curd, passion fruit, and slate. The finish is long and lingering.

Intensity & Texture

Medium-bodied and perfectly balanced with a vibrant texture with very subtle oak accents.

Cool Factor

It's time that you incorporate some wines from Kosovo into your wine gatherings. This Chardonnay is perfectly balanced with subtle flavors and impeccable style. It's very cool.

Value Grade

Tasty and very approachable Chardonnay with complex nuances selling at under $25 a bottle is very welcomed in today's market.

Analysis

The virtue of this wine is balance and restraint. The fruit is sourced from two vineyards — Sapniq and Izbisht — at an altitude of 480 meters with great sun exposure. The harvest is performed by hand followed by a cold maceration for six to eight hours and fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged in French oak for a period of nine months. While they do not disclose the ratio of new to used casks we would guess that there is a larger portion of used casks as the oak flavors are very well-integrated and not at all dominant on the nose or the palate. Everything in this wine is ideally proportioned. We wish that more Chardonnay was made with this approach — a real charmer.

How to Enjoy

Serve chilled but no too cold or you will suppress the the subtle nuances abundant in this wine. Pair it with roasted fowl, crab cakes, cream sauces, or smoked salmon.