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Buy OnlineGold Medal – Marlborough Wine Show 2024
Double Gold Medal – New Zealand International Wine Show 2023
Gold Medal – The National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand 2023
A full, rich and generous Chardonnay that puts 'stylish' back into an essentially 'old school' style. Ripe fruit, wild ferment, full malo and ageing in 22% new French Oak all adds up to one pretty spectacular Chardonnay.
Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"This wine offers enticing aromas of lemon and peach with a light smokiness. Lovely concentration of fruit is enhanced by the French oak characters of vanilla and the extended lees contact adds toasted brioche and savoury flavours to the palate. An elegant, full-flavoured wine with a lovely, long finish.
From our coastal vineyard where the sea breezes moderate temperatures, this block is situated on the banks of the Wairau Diversion. The silts and river stones, combined with our 17-21- year-old Mendoza clone vines, are the perfect match. Chardonnay is an early variety for us and it arrived at the winery in pristine condition, perfectly ripe and full of flavour.
The grapes are hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed and the juice settled briefly before being racked to French oak barrels (22% new). The juice was fermented ‘wild’ and encouraged to undergo full malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked from barrel and blended prior to being bottled here at the winery some ten months later."
5 Stars & #2 Cuisine Chardonnay Tasting, September 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Lots of fruit and fragrant florals on the nose with herbal spice and some subtle reductive characters. The palate is textural and concentrated with proud phenolics and nicely handled oak which serves to frame the palate. Lengthy with a refreshing finish."
Gold Medal – Dish Magazine Chardonnay Tasting, September 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Intensely nutty and seriously fruit-forward, with apricot, almond and mango layers make for a lifted, luscious chardonnay that soars from the glass. Punchy pineapple and subtle oak make for a satisfying sip."
Reviews for the 2021 vintage below…
96/100 Judges Comments, IWC 2023 (2021 Vintage)
"Sea kelp and oyster shell aromas leading to textured palate with deftly judged oak and finely chiselled acidity and a salty undertone. Poised and self confident."
Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, May 2022 (2021 Vintage)
"Fabulous bouquet with complexity and power, a core of barrel spices, raw cashew nut and roasted yellow fleshed stone fruits, stony earthy qualities and natural seductive charm. A youthful wine touches the palate first with a mix of fresh and roasted stone fruits, new and aged wood flavours, tannin and acid textures then grapefruits and spice. Full-bodied with a youthful energy, salivating mouthfeel with a roasted nut, wood spice and core of varietal fruit. A delicious wine that needs cellar time to develop and settle in. Best drinking from late 2023 through 2029+."
5 Stars Michael Cooper (2021 Vintage)
"Offering great value, the elegant 2021 vintage was estate-grown in the Chaytors Road Vineyard, near the coast in the Wairau Valley, and fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak barrels. Bright, light lemon/green, it has a fragrant, complex bouquet. Mouthfilling, savoury and tightly structured, it is still very youthful, with rich stonefruit flavours, finely integrated toasty oak, and a poised, lasting finish. Best drinking 2024+."
