De Simone is still trying to find their feet with Chardonnay; the 2017 model is barrel fermented and aged with 14 months on lees – all new oak. Butterscotch, vanilla, spiced-apple … this is a Chard that is too big, a la California, but there is a market for this – next year, I’m told, they’ll try something different, so if this is your kind of Chard, snap it up. Price: $35.00 – Rating: ***+