2024 Le Monde Chardonnay, Friuli

Le Monde Chardonnay from Friuli is a wonderfully expressive, gently textural and beautifully balanced white that showcases the quiet precision this region brings to the variety. The vineyards lie in the plains of Friuli Grave, where alluvial soils of gravel, sand and limestone create naturally fresh, mineral edged wines with bright fruit and elegant structure. Le Monde farms with a focus on low yields, healthy soils and careful canopy management, allowing Chardonnay to ripen slowly and evenly in the region’s cool nights and warm, breezy days. Fermentation in stainless steel preserves purity and lift, while a short period on fine lees adds roundness and subtle savoury depth without overshadowing the fruit.

The aromatics are fresh and inviting. Expect white peach, pear and crisp green apple layered with lemon zest, nectarine and a soft floral note of acacia. Beneath the fruit sits Friuli’s signature minerality, recalling cool stones, river gravel and a faint saline edge. As the wine opens, hints of almond, melon, chamomile and a gentle herbal note add quiet complexity.

The palate moves with brightness and subtle creaminess. Citrus and orchard fruit glide smoothly across a lightly textured mid palate enriched by lees ageing. Flavours of peach skin, pear, grapefruit pith and soft spice flow into a clean mineral line that keeps the wine refreshing and well defined. The finish is long and dry with lingering citrus, florals and a whisper of nutty savouriness. It is wonderfully drinkable now but will gain a touch of honeyed roundness over the next couple of years.

Brilliant with grilled fish, prawns, risotto with herbs, roast chicken, pasta with zucchini or mushrooms, vegetable antipasti, soft cheeses or lightly spiced Mediterranean dishes.