When choosing a starter or main course in a restaurant, I’m swayed by certain ingredients, so if I see coriander or yuzu, my pupils widen and my tastebuds perk up, whereas if I see beetroot or trotter, my gag reflex kicks in. It’s a similar story when reading a wine tasting-note, so if I see phrases like ‘mineral tension’ or ‘smoky reduction’ my bias is already more than halfway to being confirmed.

The first thing to say about this Chardonnay is that it is ‘topped up’ (i.e when the level in the barrel descends through natural evaporation, they add more wine to prevent oxygen getting in) so it’s not an oxidised style of Jura Chardonnay, it’s much closer to a Puligny-Montrachet in taste, with its incisive grapefruit and lemon flavours, its smoky reduction and its mineral tension. Garçon! 14% alc. Drink now-2029.

The Wine Advocate: “The 2022 Patchwork Chardonnay is the classic entry-level Chardonnay, produced with grapes from a blend of clay and limestone soils. It aged in barrel for two years in a very warm and dry vintage with very difficult fermentations, so Tissot had to use a little more sulfur. It has a classic profile and represents good value for money. But this year, the wine is less reductive than normal, it was also a large production and is riper, hitting 14% alcohol, rounder and dry but with more volume, reflecting the conditions of the year.” 92 points

Certified organic and biodynamic.