My first glass of the 2018 Closson Chase South Clos Chardonnay immersed me in a PEC-summer-state of mind. Aromas of flint and ripe lemons and nectarines, along with allusions to white flowers and tiramisu (butter, cream, biscuit, and coffee) delighted my nose, whilst flavours of grapefruit and lemon, and the sensation of freshly churned, ever-so-lightly salted butter enveloped my palate, all held up by a balanced, round, but firm structure.

As vivid as this experience was, however, the next glass I poured myself whisked me away on a space-time adventure of sorts. This may be the most wonderful aspect of wine-tasting to me; it is also what has me convinced that wine is art: each of us can experience it differently, at different times.

And so, quite unexpectedly, this charming Chardonnay now smelled like an evening in Hyderabad, spent on our terrace, right after a monsoon-shower, the smell of wet stone and flowers hanging in the air. We would chat, eat, and drink: some of us sipping coffee, others, salted nimbu paani; all of us snacking on sweets made with home-made ghee, like Badaam Barfi (an almond-based sweet) and Kheer/Payasam (a rice and milk-based pudding), or bowls of fruit.

Waves of nostalgia have been washing over me recently, most likely because I haven’t visited India in almost a year and a half. Possibly as a result of this longing for home, and certainly because wine can be an entirely subjective and emotional experience, so many wines I taste these days remind me of India.

This gave rise to a question in my mind: do any of you, who have lived in several different places, experience something similar? To me, objects are often endowed with powerful, but unstable meanings, and I wonder if, while the particular associations that objects evoke in us may be unique to each of us, the experience of embodying plurality and seeing the world in a multiplicity of ways is shared.

In any case, I very much enjoyed this wine in all its iterations, so to speak. While this vintage may be difficult to find, you can buy other terrific Chardonnays via the Closson Chase website. Better yet, pay them a visit, try a few wines and see what you like!