(only 10% of this wine went through malolactic fermentation): Palish yellow, not 100% lucid. Knockout nose combines nectarine, mirabelle, candied peach, clove, ginger and crushed rock. Pungent and mineral-driven, offering an exciting sugar/acid balance and outstanding cut and intensity. Shows distinctly yellow fruits in an Alsace way. A very sexy vintage for this bottling, with its firm minerality framing and extending the very long finish and giving the wine terrific grip. The strong, youthfully bound-up acidity should hold this wine for a good decade, but I find this wine less austere than the 2013 at a similar stage because it has more sweetness of fruit to balance its pronounced acidity.

The 2014 White Stones Chardonnay, sourced from the Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary where the soils are rich in limestone, felt marginally riper than the 2013, with some yellow fruit, faint minty notes and a powerful mouthfeel with pungent flavors and great persistence. It finishes with a very tasty, almost salty finish. Some 1,600 bottles produced.