PASK DECLARATION CHARDONNAY 2024

Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"Very vibrant and exotic on the nose which delivers a lovely blend of creme brulee, dried toasted ripe stone fruits of peach and nectarine. The palate is tight and layered with evolving expressions of stone fruit, pineapple and a leesy depth and breadth revealing a lovely underlying complexity of walnuts, vanilla spice and very fine wood tannins. A wine with great weight and luscious creaminess, flavour and style.

Rich and layered, our Declaration Chardonnay pairs beautifully with lobster, seared scallops, or roast chicken with thyme and garlic. It's stone fruit, nutty lees character, and creamy depth also compliment mushroom risotto, pork belly, and aged cheeses creating an indulgent yet balanced match at the table.

Handpicked blend of Clone 15 and Mendoza from our Gimblett Gravels Settlement vineyard, kept separate during the fermentation process with the best blended together for bottling. Pressed directly to French Oak barrel with the absolute minimum of winemaking to let the grapes and barrel express themselves.

The fruit was gently pressed in different parcels, the free run juice pressed directly to barrel and gently warmed to promote wild fermentation. Once through fermentation the barrels were stirred weekly for 16 months to promote weight and depth on the pallet. The wine was then carefully racked out of barrel to keep the wine as clean as possible to avoid adding any fining agents."

94/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review, March 2026 (2024 Vintage)
"Bright gold. This is a decadent, creamy and voluptuous chardonnay bursting with almost exotic levels of oily texture and aromatics. The peach blossom and stonefruit flavours are at once very dense yet also relatively elegant as it flows across the palate, soaking every corner of it with peach yoghurt and perfume. Very long and sustained, this is fantastically concentrated, and hard to resist already though there is no doubt that it will age and reward cellaring. A remarkably perfumed chardonnay which will nonetheless delight classic lovers of the variety."

Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, October 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"An impressive bouquet and palate with a core of toasted ripe stone fruits of peach and nectarine. There’s layers of leesy, smoky barrel spices, vanilla and roasted nut complexities. Full-bodied with a creamy touch, contrasting fruit and some wood tannins, well positioned phenolics and warming alcohol line. A delicious wine with weight and creaminess, flavour and style. Best drinking from 2025 through 2031."

5 Stars Michael Cooper (2024 Vintage)
"The winery's top Chardonnay is estate-grown in the Gimblett Gravels, Hawke's Bay, and the 2024 vintage was fermented and lees-stirred for 10 months in "predominantly new" French oak barrels.  Bright, light yellow/gold, it is weighty, sweet-fruited and rounded, with lush, ripe stonefruit flavours, buttery and toasty characters adding richness and complexity, and fresh acidity.  A powerful, extroverted style, it's already highly expressive, but likely to be at its best mid-2027+."