MAHI CHARDONNAY 2020

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"This wine is a complex, textural wine that exhibits the slight creaminess on the mid-palate that is the key characteristic of Chardonnay. The structure still retains acidity giving length and freshness.

The aim for this Chardonnay is to retain a fresh structure with a complex palate. It is the vineyards, wild-ferment and barrel characters that make up the complex nose and palate.

This fruit comes from three vineyards; the Taylor Vineyard which is in the Rapaura area, the Twin Valleys vineyard, which we have been working with since 2003 and a ten rows of Clone 1066 from the Mahi home block.

All of the vines were intensively handtended and the grapes hand-picked and then taken to the winery for wholecluster pressing. The resulting juice went straight to French oak barrels and fermented with indigenous yeast from the fruit. After fermentation the wine sat on yeast lees for eleven months prior to blending and bottling."

Reviews for the 2019 vintage below…

Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, July 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Complex, fragrant, fruit, soil and oak centric bouquet with aromas of white peach and quince, apple and white flowers, vanilla and apricot stone, white smoke and stony soils. On the palate – full-bodied yet very fine and complex, lovely mouthfeel with textures from fine wood tannins, medium+ acidity, tension and poise. Flavours of fruit and wood melt together as the wine warms and opens up in glass. Still youthful so will continue to develop in cellar, but is totally drinkable now and through 2026+."

4 Stars Yvonne Lorkin, June 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Erupting with fresh peach, grapefruit and bucketloads of toasty textures, this is a masterclass in how to make ultra-sippable chardonnay that’ll wow the crowds. Fresh, perky, yet showing depth and substance, this cashew, apricot and brulee-boosted example is creamy, richly structured and darn dangerously easy to drink. Smooth and juicy."

5 Stars & 93/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, May 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Restrained and fine, the wine shows white flesh peach, lemon zest, gun smoke and cashew characters on the nose, leading to a focused palate that's tightly structured by firm acidity. The wine offers splendid elegance and linear mouthfeel, promising to evolve gracefully. At its best: 2023 to 2030."

4 ½ Stars Michael Cooper (2019 Vintage)
"The 2019 vintage was hand-harvested at three sites, fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak barriques and wood-aged for 11 months. Bright, light yellow/green, it is a full-bodied, youthful wine, vibrantly fruity, with fresh acidity, excellent concentration and toasty, savoury notes adding good complexity. Best drinking 2023+."