Well, this one falls under the heading of This-is-why-you-always-go-into-a-wine-store-knowing-more-than-the-kid-professing-to-being-able-to-assist-you.

I’d wanted to buy a Sicilian Chardonnay and thought I was doing so – not knowing where Terre di Chieti was exactly. I believed the guy at Legacy who was quite insistent this is the one I should go home with.

My bad.  Terre di Chieti is in Abruzzo, just north of Puglia on the backside of the boot. Beautiful?  Undoubtedly – at least according to the internet images I found. This is not what I’d thought it was, but that said I really enjoyed it.

It’s a lovely shade of medium gold with aromas of ripe, canned peach, honey, deep yellow nectarines and nuts. There is definitely oak on this as well.

The palate is dry with average acidity, but the alcohol is waaay high.  Flavours include ripe peaches, nectarines, yellow plums, apricots and more honey with some caramel notes, strong almonds and slight vanilla with nutmeg. There’s a definite hit of creamy yoghurt from the MLF too.

Overall, this is a WSET Good wine.  The oak is not integrated but the fruit is lovely and fresh and balances with the rich complexity and a reasonably crisp acidity. Drink and enjoy now, don’t age.

Next stop, a different wine store to find a Mount Etna Chard.