Pago de Otazu Chardonnay con Crianza 2018

The 2018 Pago de Otazu Chardonnay, like the rest of Pago de Otazu range, was aged very carefully after working with several barrel markers to achieve a subtle wine with a nice balance between oak and fruit. It was produced with grapes from an 18-year-old vineyard planted with clone 548 on gravel soils. It fermented with selected yeasts in new French oak barrels, where it matured with lees for six months. The wine was kept in bottle for a further 18 months and released in its third year. They consider 2018 and 2016 their best vintages so far, and this wine is quite different from the Chardonnay from 2017 that I also tasted; it's fresher and younger, much more varietal and showing a Burgundian profile with toasted notes and hints of spices and nuts. It has a medium body and a certain lightness, with a soft texture and a toasty finish. 5,988 bottles were filled in July 2019.