GREYSTONE ERIN’S CHARDONNAY 2023

Platinum Trophy & 97/100 Points – Decanter World Wine Awards 2026

Every so often a New Zealand wine achieves something that stops the wine world in its tracks.

Greystone's Erin's Chardonnay 2023 has just been awarded Platinum and 97 points at the Decanter World Wine Awards, becoming the first Canterbury wine in history to earn this coveted accolade. Even more remarkably, it stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some of Burgundy's most celebrated Chardonnays, with only a handful of wines reaching the same lofty score.

Awards alone don't make a great wine, but when the world's leading critics place a North Canterbury Chardonnay in such esteemed company, it is worth paying attention.

The wine was already heavily allocated before this announcement. Now that the global spotlight has found it, remaining stocks are likely to disappear quickly. Thankfully, Greystone has reserved a very small allocation for the local market, allowing us access to a handful of cases.

Once these are gone, we wouldn't expect to see more anytime soon.

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"What a moment for this wine. Erin's Chardonnay 2023 has been awarded Platinum at the Decanter World Wine Awards, scoring 97 points,  the first time a Canterbury wine has ever achieved Platinum at DWWA. The only other wines to score this high were the likes of Burgundy's finest. Proud doesn't quite cover it.

The result is a wine of concentration and precision, opulent and restrained in equal measure. Oyster shell, white peach and acacia blossom on the nose, delicately framed by new French oak. On the palate, stonefruit and macadamia, with a chalky limestone tension that is the hallmark of this block. Fourteen months in barrel and time on lees add depth and complexity. The finish is seamless and poised, elegant in its restraint, yet powerful in its persistence.

Erin's Chardonnay has always held a special place at Greystone. Named for Peter and Debbie's daughter, it grows on our steepest and highest slopes, north-facing, open to the valley sun, planted on a seam of pure limestone that runs through the peaks of the Omihi Hills. Limestone is rare in New Zealand. It is the geology that underpins the world's great age-worthy whites, from the grand crus of Puligny-Montrachet to the great Chardonnays of Chablis, and this block, where the limestone runs deepest on the estate, gives us some of our lowest yields and our most celebrated wines.

We kept our hands light. The fruit was whole-bunch pressed, a gentle extraction that preserves the delicacy and purity of the juice without pulling out harsh phenolics. The juice was left to settle overnight before being racked to French oak barrels (40% new), where it met native yeasts for the first time. Wild fermentation is slower and less predictable than inoculated fermentation, but what it gives in return is complexity and texture that you simply cannot manufacture. The fermentation ran its own course, followed by full malolactic fermentation, which softens the wine's natural acidity and adds a richness and roundness to the palate. Fourteen months in barrel followed, the wine resting on its full lees, building texture and depth before being estate bottled without fining or filtration."

DWWA Judges' Comments (2023 Vintage)
"Sunshine driven aromas of pineapple, peach and nutty spice float over the complementing creamy weight and richness, daring to be flamboyant, yet underpinned by an abounding freshness. Breath-takingly linear and energetic with an enduring chalky length."

Rated Outstanding & 97/100 Cameron Doulgas MS, June 2026 (2023 Vintage)
"A complete wine, complex and delicious, lots of creamy weight and richness, some positive reduction and spice, nuttiness and pomaceous fruits, peach and wood spice. A wine of place and power. Delicious with pineapple and nut, fresh California peach and citrus, mineral and chalk."

5 Stars & 96/100 Sammy Wilkinson, TheWineWriter.com, June 2026 (2023 Vintage)
"This wine just makes me smile. Stylish, expressive and confident – this single vineyard Mendoza clone Chardonnay delivers a real punch of concentration. Ripe yellow plum, peach and citrus zest aromatics, layered with meadow flowers, toasty spice and a flicker of flint. The palate is bold and encompassing, but not heavy. Chalky, silky, and electric, with a mineral charge, golden citrus acidity, and long-lasting buttered-popcorn, toasted vanilla and spice flavours. A concentrated and extra classy Chardonnay with some serious bones. Ideally, give it a couple more years and let it properly show its hand. Stunning."