Danbury Ridge Chardonnay 2022
Essex
England, England
Regular price
£44.00
Sale price£37.00
Save £7.00
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Arriving: In stock
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| Style: White | Packaging: OCC |
| ABV: 13.5% | Closure: Cork |
| Organic: | Drink from: 2024 |
| Biodynamic: | Drink to: 2030 |
| Grapes: 100% Chardonnay | |
Critic scores
91+ RP, 92 NM, 92 VM, 17 JR, 92 GM
Critic reviews
"Although the Octagon Block bottling presents a little showier, Danbury's straight Chardonnay is a fine way to get a grip on why the estate has captured so much attention. The 2022 Chardonnay was whole-bunch pressed and fermented in used 228-liter Burgundy barrels, in which it spent 12 months (shorter than the Octagon bottlings) before resting in tank on the gross lees for six months to bring a gently charry, reductive dynamism into the mix. While the 2021 was beautifully evocative and polished, the estate’s straight Chardonnay in 2022 shows a little more width and white peach roundness, with sweet pear, blossom and roasted spices meeting a flowing, medium-bodied palate of clementine juiciness and gentle oatmeal lees richness. Some of the extremity of the year is felt in the citrus-oil heat here, and it is a little more front-loaded versus the follow-through of the Octagon in this year, showing its hand more fully in youth."
Tom Hewson, July 2025, RobertParker.com
"The 2022 Chardonnay has a taut and linear bouquet with Clementine and apricot. Fresh and vibrant, the wine opens gradually in the glass. The palate has a lovely texture, which marks it out from the previous vintage, much more weight. With very fine delineation and mineralité, it's beautifully balanced, deepening towards the finish with a prickle of stem ginger that feels more pithy and, therefore, has greater umami than the previous vintage. Superb."
Neal Martin, February 2024, Vinous.com
"The 2022 Chardonnay exhibits intense creaminess on the nose, accompanied by a vivid flourish of smoke, showcasing all the energy of 2022 in that first whiff. The palate is rounded and smooth, still resonating with smokiness on a concentrated body. It needs time in the bottle to calm down. Not in a million years would you put that in England—this is Essex in a hot year."
Anne Krebiehl MW, October 2025, Vinous.com
"Danbury Ridge seems to be 'hitting the straps' with this vintage. In a blind tasting, I would say this was from Hemel-en-Aarde. Mineral, bright, complex flavours with a combination of some subtle stone fruit allied to crisp citrus acidity and a touch of (welcome) bitterness on the finish."
Andy Howard, March 2025, JancisRobinson.com
Tom Hewson, July 2025, RobertParker.com
"The 2022 Chardonnay has a taut and linear bouquet with Clementine and apricot. Fresh and vibrant, the wine opens gradually in the glass. The palate has a lovely texture, which marks it out from the previous vintage, much more weight. With very fine delineation and mineralité, it's beautifully balanced, deepening towards the finish with a prickle of stem ginger that feels more pithy and, therefore, has greater umami than the previous vintage. Superb."
Neal Martin, February 2024, Vinous.com
"The 2022 Chardonnay exhibits intense creaminess on the nose, accompanied by a vivid flourish of smoke, showcasing all the energy of 2022 in that first whiff. The palate is rounded and smooth, still resonating with smokiness on a concentrated body. It needs time in the bottle to calm down. Not in a million years would you put that in England—this is Essex in a hot year."
Anne Krebiehl MW, October 2025, Vinous.com
"Danbury Ridge seems to be 'hitting the straps' with this vintage. In a blind tasting, I would say this was from Hemel-en-Aarde. Mineral, bright, complex flavours with a combination of some subtle stone fruit allied to crisp citrus acidity and a touch of (welcome) bitterness on the finish."
Andy Howard, March 2025, JancisRobinson.com