NAUTILUS CHARDONNAY 2020

Nautilus Estate Chardonnay has become one of your favourites over the past few vintages, so it is always with interest we await a new vintage release. This 2020 will have you smiling. We think it rates alongside the previous trophy winning wines in quality. Winemaker Clive Jones avoids the over-use of sulphites, so there is little funkiness – just brilliant golden fruits (nectarine and peach) and nutty savouriness. Rounded and complete on the palate – a very satisfying wine.

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"The 2020 Nautilus Chardonnay is straw coloured with a lifted nose of ripe apricots, brioche and toasted hazelnuts with a hint of flinty complexity. The palate displays stone fruits and honeysuckle along with a nutty complexity from the natural ferments. The palate has good depth and concentration with a refreshingly long finish. This wine has a tight mineral structure and will develop a creamy texture as it matures."

Gold Medal & Top Rated Chardonnay, dish.co.nz, May 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"With buckets of toasty oak, popcorn, bacon and citrus on the nose, this chardonnay is a bold style with supermodel sleekness. Cameron (Douglas MS) and Rebecca (Reed) immediately remarked on how well made this wine is. “Classic, clean grapefruit, butterscotch, tropical notes and layers of apricot,” noted Rebecca. Yvonne (Lorkin) was seduced by its powerful generosity and stonefruit saturation. This chardonnay is world class."

5 Stars Michael Cooper (2020 Vintage)
"Already very expressive, the 2020 vintage was mostly estate-grown and hand-harvested at Renwick, and fermented and matured in French oak barriques (20 per cent new). Bright, light yellow/green, it is fragrant and weighty, with concentrated, peachy, gently mealy and toasty flavours, slightly smoky notes, and a smooth, savoury, very harmonious finish. Best drinking 2023+."

Reviews for the 2019 vintage below…

5 Stars Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, October 2020 (2019 Vintage)
"The Nautilus Chardonnay 2019 is a moderately intense chardonnay with a lovely creamy texture and flavours suggesting peach, brioche, lime, ginger, and nutty yeast lees characters with a hint of struck-flint. Subtle fruit sweetness is underpinned by tangy acidity. A serious chardonnay with cellaring potential."

4 Stars Cuisine Chardonnay Tasting, October 2020 (2019 Vintage)
"A hit of funky oak spice on the nose hints at a potential power within that could be overwhelming. Yet, as we sip this wine the palate reveals itself as an extremely well-balanced chardonnay whose underlying power is restrained and understated."

Rated Excellent 94/1000 Cameron Douglas MS, September 2020 (2019 Vintage)
"Full, rich and powerful bouquet with a core of toasty oak and nutty richness, grapefruit and roasted yellow stone fruits. Equally powerful, full-bodied and richly textured on the palate. Flavours of vanilla and baked custard, toasty baking spices with a hint of bacon oak then a core of stone fruit and citrus flavours that reflect the nose. Youthful and balanced, well made with a lengthy finish. A totally satisfying wine."