Full-bodied fruit and spice, often with the ability to age. Ranging from bold Australian Chardonnay to aged Vouvray, this style usually relies on the interplay of oak and fruit, forming a complex, honeyed character.

Overt vanilla aromas tends to come with barrel fermentation more than via the more gentle processes involved in barrel maturation, and from new wood rather than used oak. Older barrels are more about gentle oxidation rather than transfer of vanillins and similar aroma compounds.

However, when strictly discussing buttery characters malolactic fermentation (the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid) can play at least as big a role as oak. Lees aging also adds texture.

Such wines tend to come from regions or sites where white grapes achieve high levels of ripeness, and/or feature grape varieties which can attain high sugar levels. From this comes reasonable levels of alcohol by volume.

This means ripe fruit aromas balance the oak characters. Moreover, the viscosity of a higher alcohol white wine adds a silkiness which can ally to buttery aromas.

Characteristics

• Vanilla, butterscotch, cream, coconut, buttered toast
• Overt oakiness - woodspice
• Stewed fruit, peaches, apricot, tropical notes
• Almond