The 2023 Te Mata Estate is a delicious Chardonnay from one of New Zealand's very best producers that offers everything in balance. There's bright fruit upfront with juicy acidity leading to richness in the mid palate with subtle oak and creamy malolactic characters leading to a fine dry finish. Text book stuff and delightful drinking.
Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Crystal-pale gold highlights, Estate Chardonnay ’23 immediately presents the aroma of white nectarines and white peaches, alongside notes of lychee, ripe citrus, creamy nougat and delicate spice. The ripe and dry mid-palate is full and rich, with just a touch of ripe pear and ‘marmalade on toast’. This plushness and concentration in Estate Chardonnay 2023 rolls to a whisper finish that’s clean, saline, fresh and fine-boned. Estate Chardonnay ’23 is a display of balance between weight and detail.
Estate Chardonnay ’23 combines the best of traditional and modern winemaking. This involved tank fermentation to preserve the vibrant varietal aromas and clear, fresh fruit expression along with some barrel fermentation, barrel maturation on gross lees, and malolactic fermentation to enhance the complexity, richness and integration."
Reviews for previous vintages below…
5 Stars & 93/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, October 2022 (2022 Vintage)
"Elegant and inviting, the bouquet shows white flesh stone fruit, lemon pith, oatmeal and roasted cashew notes, followed by a succulent palate displaying flowing mouthfeel and creamy texture. Beautifully proportioned and expansive with a sustained delectable finish. At its best: now to 2028."
4 Stars Michael Cooper (2021 Vintage)
"The 2021 vintage of this good-value wine was grown in the company's vineyards at Woodthorpe Terraces, in the Dartmoor Valley, the Bridge Pa Triangle and at Havelock North. Fermented and lees-aged in tanks and seasoned French oak barrels, it is mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity, with strong peach and grapefruit flavours, vaguely creamy notes, a hint of butterscotch, balanced acidity and good harmony. Delicious young."