Chardonnay 2018

Light to medium-yellow colour, with a complex bouquet that showcases buttery popcorn notes, nougat and toast. The wine is medium to full-bodied and rich, with sustained flavour and lovely balance, the flavours lingering on and on superbly.★★★★★

Full of potential, it is mouthfilling and highly concentrated, with deep, citrusy, peachy flavours, woven with fresh acidity, finely integrated oak, and impressive vigour, complexity and length. A top debut, it's well worth cellaring.

- Michael Cooper

95 / 100points | ★★★★★

Light to medium-yellow colour, with a complex bouquet that showcases buttery popcorn notes, nougat and toast. The wine is medium to full-bodied and rich, with sustained flavour and lovely balance, the flavours lingering on and on superbly.

- Huon Hooke, Australia

19 / 20 points | ★★★★★

Brilliant yellow with a golden and slight green hue, even colour throughout. The nose is elegantly full, growing with intensity, nuances of peaches, lemon flesh, honeydew melon interweave well-proportioned gunflint and toasted almonds. Medium-full bodied, the aroma of peaches, pink grapefruit, preserved citrus peels have positive ripeness, unfolding nougat, roasted almonds and amalgam spices linger to a long, sustained, elegant finish.

- Candice Chow

18.5 / 20 points | ★★★★★
A perfect shining lemon, nearly a hint of green, a great young chardonnay colour.  Bouquet is sweet, ripe, nearly floral, classic young mendoza-clone chardonnay with its hint of yen-ben citrus aromatics, on golden queen peachy fruit.  Below is lees-contact complexity and fragrant yet subtle oak which immediately deepens the bouquet, and draws you in, so you are itching to taste the wine.  Palate is vibrant with fresh acid against good fruit, the acid making the oak a little more noticeable now, but it will marry away.  On taste alone, you almost wonder if it is a non-MLF wine, on the varietal purity of the yellow-fleshed fruit, plus the long natural acid.  Not so.  And the subtlety of the high-solids fraction is superb. Cellar 10 to 20 years. 

- Geoff Kelly

Old vine Mendoza Chardonnay was sourced from two sites in Hawke’s Bay. The Mangatahi site is inland and elevated and later ripening, while Bridge Pa ripens Chardonnay beautifully with their red metal soils.

Low yielding vines, open canopy management, managed irrigation and Sustainable Winegrowing NZ farmed were common to both sites. The Mendoza clone with their typical hen and chicken bunches produced fruit of great intensity and balance, and structured acidity. This Chardonnay was hand harvested and cooled overnight.

The cooled bunches were hand sorted then whole bunched pressed. The majority of juice was cold settled then racked to barrel. Fermentation was in new and seasoned French oak, with selected cultured yeast and indigenous yeast, for added complexity. A combination of 500L puncheons and 225L barriques were employed.

Lees stirring post fermentation was regular and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel. The Chardonnay matured in barrel for 9 months before blending and bottling.

An elegant Chardonnay which focuses on the beautiful structure so evident in this grape variety. Pristine fruit and balanced acidity are the backbone, enhanced with seamless texture and mouthfeel. Citrus notes, particularly grapefruit pith abound, gracefully supported by sweet French oak.

This Chardonnay is drinking well now but will evolve and age beautifully for the next 5-7 years.

Alcohol: 13% Total acidity: 7.5 g/l