Carrick Cairnmuir Terraces EBM Central Otago Organic Chardonnay 2022 $60 I mean you could go through your life happily knowing the Carrick EBM Chardonnay is so named for its ‘Extended Barrel Maturation’. However, I feel that name kind of doesn’t really give enough oomph to its actual fabulousness. So from here on in, I’m renaming … Read More
Chardonnay
Alpha Domus The Batten Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2024
Alpha Domus The Batten Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2024 $44 I cannot stress this enough. The Batten 2024 is my Chardonnay of the year so far, and if you’re a Chardonnay fan or Chardonnay collector, you must beg, steal, borrow, barter, do whatever it takes to get your mits on this vintage as soon as you … Read More
Monowai Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2023
Monowai Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2023 $24 Gorgeously golden in the glass, winemaker and owner Emma Lowe has, from a horrific cyclone year, I might add, created a bold, peach and cashew-crammed style with refreshing acidity, buttered toast dusted with cinnamon characters and a finish that’s like a marathon being run in your mouth. Tropic-tastic and … Read More
Brightwater Vineyards Lord Rutherford Barrique Nelson Chardonnay 2023
Brightwater Vineyards Lord Rutherford Barrique Nelson Chardonnay 2023 $42 This rich, generously fruity, luxuriously juicy, creamy, and toasty chardonnay is stacked with nectarine niceness and sweetly concentrated, slightly smoky layers licked with almond and ripe yellow plum notes. It’s stunning stuff, and if you’re disciplined enough to leave a little in the bottle for tomorrow, … Read More
Jules Taylor Marlborough Chardonnay 2023
Jules Taylor Marlborough Chardonnay 2023 $25 I am LOVING. This. Chardonnay! Jules clearly had a blinder of a vintage in 2023 because this wine absolutely roars with ripe stonefruit and is prickled with pineapple, and luscious lemon and then crammed with creamy cashew and almond notes to flesh out a finish fanging with flavour. Juicy … Read More
Two Rivers Clos des Pierres Marlborough Chardonnay 2023
Two Rivers Clos des Pierres Marlborough Chardonnay 2023 $30-$35 Crafted from Mendoza, Clone 15 and B95 fruit grown in their Spring and Hawkesbridge vineyards that was wild fermented then aged for 8 months in French oak and given a full malolactic ferment, this chardonnay is a deliciously clean, youthful, saline-laced, and citrus stacked style. Elongated … Read More
Folding Hill Central Otago Chardonnay 2022
Folding Hill Central Otago Chardonnay 2022 $35 An attractive, apple-led style with grilled grapefruit and baked, Golden Delicious peach notes on the nose alongside a vein of creamy complexity on the palate. It’s a cleansing, fresh, multilayered style with a whiff of oak and a spine that spins on the lemony, citrus spectrum and finishes … Read More
Oraterra Martinborough Chardonnay 2023
Oraterra Martinborough Chardonnay 2023 $70 Labelled with an artwork by Leanne Williams “In The Presence” and crafted by a team which began life at Dry River wines, this chardonnay has impressive creamy complexity, aromas of baked stonefruit and fennel are licked with pineapple and butterscotch. All these elements osmose across the palate and are bolstered … Read More
Misty Cove 1203 Limited Release Marlborough Chardonnay 2023
Misty Cove 1203 Limited Release Marlborough Chardonnay 2023 $44 Inspired by Mt Stokes, which towers 1203m above sea level over the Marlborough region, this wine is excellently energetic and aromatic, and wouldn’t we all like to be that? Well, chaps, each sip of this wine will help you get there, and with its gentle cashew … Read More
Mills Reef Elspeth Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2023
Mills Reef Elspeth Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2023 $39 The flagship chardonnay for Mills Reef is tightly coiled and ready to unleash its talents over the next ten years I feel. From a cooler vintage, Paul Dawick and his winemaking team have sourced some spectacular fruit to craft a chardonnay scented with grilled grapefruit, lemon pith, … Read More