BLANK CANVAS TANO CHARDONNAY 2023

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"High-toned and intense grapefruit, white florals and an attractive hazelnut and savoury musk form a complex aromatic picture. A highlight of this Chardonnay is its vividly sketched, elevated acidity gifted by the very cool, exposed coastal position of the Anandale Farm vineyard in Blind River. Layered flavours of grapefruit, lemon citrus and hazelnut combine with the vibrant acid line delivering vitality, persistence and a lengthy finish.

Bespoke 25-hectolitre botti (Italian for large barrels) ferment and mature the small parcel of Anandale Farm Clone 95 Chardonnay hand-harvested from the wild, cool climate coast of Blind River in Marlborough. Wild, full solids fermentation in our botti takes place over many months, maturing on lees for a total of 15 months. We gently rack and bottle it without filtration in the second winter following harvest.

This combination of subregion, microclimate and winemaking delivers a vivid and pristine cool climate Chardonnay of profound complexity shifting the dial once more to the stylistic capabilities of our region. Unfined, unfiltered."

97/100 & James Suckling Top 100 NZ Wines of 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"This is a beautiful first-release single-vineyard chardonnay with subtle yet intense hazelnuts and sliced cooked apples with hints of Meyer-lemon character. Medium-bodied, it has an extremely long finish with structure and wonderful persistence. The hazelnuts and lightly spiced pears to the hints of cedar are so enticing. Drink or hold."

5 Stars & 96/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, January 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"A clearly cool-climate chardonnay with hazelnut and saline/oyster shell flavours and refreshing citrus characters together with surprising weight and richness. Accessible now but with good cellaring potential."

5 Stars & 95/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review, January 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"Initial notes of smoke and flint blow off with air to reveal a subtle florals, oatmeal, roasted nuts, earth and stone-fruit. The mid-palate starts quite giving with juicy orange fruit and tangy, saline acidity before firming up with chalky grip and edgy minerality on the back. Currently brooding and young, it will open up in a year or two to reveal its innate complexity."

5 Stars Michael Cooper (2023 Vintage)
"The distinctive, very elegant 2023 vintage was grown in the Blind River district, at "one of the coolest, coastal sites in all of Marlborough." Fermented and lees-aged for 15 months in Italian 'botti' (large oak vessels holding 2,500 litres), it has a highly fragrant, mealy bouquet. Showing obvious potential for cellaring, it is mouthfilling and vibrant, with rich, peachy, citrusy, biscuity flavours, balanced acidity, and excellent weight, drive and harmony.  Best drinking mid-2026+."

Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, January 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"A complex and intriguing wine. Great colour and aromatic development within the bouquet, a complex wine with layers of fruit, lees spice and acidity, harmonious and detailed. On the palate a dry wine touches first then a rush of flavour from what I can only describe as combinations of texture and flavour from citrus to nut, to echoes of stone fruit and mineral. Dry, lengthy, new and exciting. Best drinking from mid to late 2025 through 2031+."

17.5/20 Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com (2023 Vintage)
"Very slightly flinty at first, though this is less noticeable on the day after opening. There's subtle oak notes – creamy, mealy – and ripe citrus with a light note of fruit sweetness but the ripeness is just on the edge, so the fruit sings without being overly rich. There's also a combination of minerally crushed stones and something else I find hard to pinpoint, like a crushed aromatic waxy leaf. I can imagine this would develop a touch of lanolin and toast with bottle age. On the palate, there's immense finesse and tension. Absolutely no lack of fruit but it is knife-edge ripe, giving intensity rather than masses of fruit flavour. Pristine. Very gently rounded out by the lees. Given the full solids, I expected a little more struck-match character but here it is only a light flinty expression. Long and tense and likely to age well – and gets better and better after the bottle has been open a couple of days. This could easily be mistaken from good premier cru Chablis, even if it has that little bit of richness from New Zealand's cool but sunny climate."