The 2022 Martin's Lane Chardonnay has an intense, focused palate at the moment, with excellent saline notes and some flinty minerality. The nose is dominated by stone fruits (peach), citrus and thyme aromas. More texture on the palate at this stage than the 2020 vintage. The intensity on the mid-palate goes on and on, extending all the way through the long finish, suggesting this will put on lots of flesh and richness with time in bottle. Drinking 2026-2030. RKL

"Smoky, hazelnuts, and long, fragrant fruit. White citrus and cool melon, fennel pollen. Tarragon. I love the savoury line running through the horizontal, but it's the parabola of bright, ripe, pure, yellow stone fruit that line intersects which is astonishing. I never thought I would write, about an English Chardonnay, that 'I can taste the sunshine'. But here it is, in this glass of English Chardonnay, from a vineyard on clay, facing the cold North Sea. 17 points" jancisrobinson.com (TC)

ABOUT MARTIN'S LANE VINEYARD, CROUCH VALLEY

Despite its prosaic Essex location, the Crouch Valley is a beautiful spot, on the Dengie Peninsula, bounded by the estuaries of the rivers Crouch and Blackwater and the North Sea. The area has some unique grape-growing attributes. The tidal River Crouch helps to protect against spring frosts, dissipating the cold air. The area is also the driest in England. The RHS' experimental 'Dry Garden' at Hyde Hall is only three miles away and the drought-resistant gardens of famous gardener Beth Chatto are just a few miles further up the coast.

This low rainfall and a warm microclimate allow for a long ripening period for noble varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which in cooler areas only attain the kind of ripeness suitable for sparkling wines.

Martin's Lane Vineyard was established by a group of family and friends in 2008. Local vineyard guru Duncan McNeill oversees the viticulture. He left a career in UK agriculture to train in New Zealand and now manages half a dozen excellent estates in this area. John Worontschack, one of the most experienced winemakers working in the UK, vinifies the wines.