SIREN QUEEN OF SWORDS CHARDONNAY 2024

Ashleigh Barrowman is fast emerging as one of New Zealand’s most exciting winemaking talents. Her wines are increasingly sought after, and we’ve secured a small allocation of her 2024 Chardonnay from the renowned Wrekin Vineyard.

With just 50 cases produced, demand will comfortably outstrip supply. This is a rare opportunity to secure a bottle before it disappears.

Ashleigh has learned from some of the best – having cut her teeth working with legends like Patrick Sullivan (Aus), Hans Herzog (NZ), Vino di Anna (Sicily), Domaine Labet (Jura), Jean-Jacques Morel (Burgundy) & Les Bottes Rouges (Jura). After years of being a travelling winemaker, she returned home in 2020 to Marlborough, NZ, and fell in love with the Wrekin Vineyard. Years later, she continues to craft distinct single-vineyard, single-varietal wines that truly represent time and place.

Ashleigh balances her time working amongst the vines and in the cellar. All wines are produced by Ashleigh from certified organic vineyards – they are hand-picked, wild fermented and unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphites at bottling. 

Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"The Queen of Swords beckons you to look at all the facts before making a decision. This queen does have compassion, which is why she has her hand reaching outwards in offering, but she wants to connect to people using an understanding that is intellectual.

Creamy brioche, toasted hazelnut and nashi pear on the nose. Luscious and full bodied with notes of honey suckle, apple compote and preserved lemon. High acidity and a saline structure with texture and weight on the back palate. Long dry finish. 

Biodynamically grown by The Wrekin vineyard in Marlborough.Hand-picked and whole bunch pressed into tank to settle overnight. Transferred into a mix of old puncheons and barriques for wild fermentation with constant lees stirring. Full malolactic fermentation and left to mature for 18 months before bottling. Aged in bottle for 6 months before release. Certified organic fruit. Unfined. Unfiltered. Vegan. Minimal sulphites added at bottling. Bottled under cork."

Reviews for previous vintages below…

94/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review, July 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"A persistently intriguing and evolving nose with fresh apple, floral notes, lemon zest, creaming soda, golden kiwifruit and yellow plums, even a hint of cinnamon. The palate is saline, long and complex with refreshing tartness before turning creamy towards the finish. Elegantly balanced, it’s accessible now with generosity and forwardness tempered by the tighter, savoury acidity. Clearly New Wave in style, this expressive, light- to mid-weight chardonnay has a gentle personality and will deliver much pleasure over the mid-term."

94/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, October 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Made by Ashleigh Barrowman, using fruit from the biodynamic Wrekin Vineyard in the Brancott Valley, Marlborough. Bottled under cork and wax. Unfined and unfiltered – a bright golden straw colour in the glass, but expect some cloudiness at the bottom of the bottle. Aromas of grapefruit, apple, preserved lemon, cashew, apricot and orange blossom. A balance between that citrussy clean purity and some funky phenolics into the palate. Brimming with briney, linear acidity, it races along on a wave of energy and remains piquant and mineral. There is texture that sidles in from the wings, adding a silky element and interest. I don’t see oak, but there’s an oatmeal and spice note in the back somewhere, and the whole package is very characterful – from the labelling to the dry, persistent finish."