ESCARPMENT CHARDONNAY 2022

Gold Medal – New Zealand International Wine Show 2023

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"Sourced primarily from Escarpment's home block on Te Muna Road on the Martinborough terraces. A Chardonnay of distinction and complexity with striking minerality and a typical varietal character reminiscent of its terroir and winemaking philosophy. 

A cooler vintage of elegance and grace, that has given us a lovely restrained Chardonnay of focus and texture. 100% Martinborough fruit, from the famous alluvial terrace and made from grapes grown on our own estate along with select growers. The fruit was handled with great care to help retain balance and freshness. Whole bunch pressed and fermented in French oak puncheons using indigenous yeast, to enhance texture and complexity. After fermentation the wine was aged in barrel for 11 months with 20% new, creating a wine with ripe stone fruit characters and a flinty mineral backbone. It is a wine that is both accessible in its youth but will also age gracefully for several years.

Lifted flowers, white peach and wet stone leap out of the glass. Notes of gunflint and citrus meld to add complexity and fragrance. On the palate the wine is focused and streamlined, with a core of concentrated fruit built around a seam of natural acidity. Partial malolactic fermentation and barrel maturation help to give the wine both breadth and length. It is a wine that is built around elegance and restraint, offering focus and persistence. An accurate reflection of the district’s unique terroir, it will evolve in bottle over the next 5 to 7 years. Serve as an accompaniment to soft, creamy cheeses or rich chicken dishes."

Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, July 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"As the wine begins to open out in the glass, after a few minutes, the complexity and purity of fruit, well managed influences of oak and minerality all begin to speak. Aromas and flavours of cashew nut and vanilla custard cream, peach and roasted fruit, fine smoky wood layers and yellow grapefruit. Textures from soft acidity and fine wood tannins set in place mouthfeel and structure while the fruit flavours weave in between. Well made, complex and delicious. Best drinking from late 2023 through 2030."

Reviews for the 2021 vintage below…

5 Stars & 19+/20 (96) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, August 2022 (2021 Vintage)
"Bright, pale yellow with depth and green hues, even colour throughout. The nose is distinctive, soft yet potent, penetrating aromas of oyster shell, citrus, stonefruit, meringue overlying struck match and a hint of nut. Medium-full bodied, concentrated aromas exploded with lemon curd, apricot unfolding spice, grapefruit zest and minerals, followed by whipped meringue, almond and toast. A dusty, chalky layer of minerals coated the palate in silk. The layers of flavour amalgamated by striking acid tension, carrying vibration and focus to a long, stimulating finish. This is an exceptional Chardonnay with excellent tension, concentrated fruit and an elegant mineral palate enriched by well-portioned barrel details. Match with butter-poached crayfish and caviar over the next 10 years. Fruit sourced from primarily home block on Te Muna Road, fermented in French oak puncheons, 20% new, 12.9% alc, aged 11 months in oak and a further 4 months in stainless steel, bypassed MLF."

Rated Excellent, 5 Stars & 94/100 NZ Wine Rater, August 2022 (2021 Vintage)
"Potent, complex, 'serious' nose with strong winemaking influence. There are luxurious aromas of peach, butter-slathered puff pastry, toasted almonds, vanilla pod and fresh cream. A very intense, concentrated, powerful style that pushes the boundaries. However, the structure is taut and saline with plenty of acid and a long citrus finish. It will be better still with extra time in the bottle to develop integration and harmony."

5 Stars & 95/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, July 2022 (2021 Vintage)
"With most of the fruit coming from the Home Block on Te Muna Road on the Martinborough Terraces, this is a wine where the style has evolved in the last few years – a move away from the flinty reductivity that was in vogue a few years back, and showing more elegance and balance. There is still an element of that minerally struck-match note to the nose, but tempered by a plush peach, lemon peel, cashew nut, grapefruit and gingery spices. That opulent aroma sets the tone for the palate, with some really bright and clean acidity giving real line and crispness – for a wine with real succulence, this has terrific flow."

93/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, July 2023 (2021 Vintage)
"With most of the fruit coming from the Home Block on Te Muna Road on the Martinborough Terraces, this is a wine where the style has evolved in the last few years – a move away from the flinty reductivity that was in vogue a few years back, and showing more elegance and balance. There is still an element of that minerally struck-match note to the nose, but tempered by a plush peach, lemon peel, cashew nut, grapefruit and gingery spices. That opulent aroma sets the tone for the palate, with some really bright and clean acidity giving real line and crispness – for a wine with real succulence, this has terrific flow."