Ash Ridge Ariel Hawke’s Bay Blanc de Blanc 2018 $45 This classy Blanc de Blanc (100% Chardonnay), was crafted in the traditional vintage Champagne method where the initial base wine was barrel fermented and left on lees for 1 year before being bottled and re-fermented to build its ultra-fine mousse (bubbles), and then left again … Read More
Chardonnay
Ash Ridge Premium Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2017
Ash Ridge Premium Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2017 $32 Very, very toasty with hints of sawdust and spice: the caramelised characters in this Lauren Swift-crafted wine will definitely appeal to those who love old-school roastiness and nutty, creamy layers in their chardonnay. That was a long sentence — almost as long as the finish on this … Read More
Yealands State of Flux Marlborough Chardonnay 2019
Yealands State of Flux Marlborough Chardonnay 2019 $39.99 Soft citrus and soft peach and a hint of preserved lemon is what you can expect on the nose and the palate is creamy and shows tweaks of ground almond and melon. Fermented in Yealands concrete eggs, which some winemakers believe creates a more gentle environment for … Read More
The Hunting Lodge Home Block Waimauku Chardonnay 2019
The Hunting Lodge Home Block Waimauku Chardonnay 2019 $64 Grown on the Waimauku Clays, half an hour or so’s drive out west of the Auckland CBD on the Northwestern motorway, Chief Winemaker Pete Turner has been carefully watching over their 80acre estate to finally decide if and when it’d produce chardonnay worthy of their flagship … Read More
Ashwell Martinborough Chardonnay 2019
Ashwell Martinborough Chardonnay 2019 $28 If you’re looking for a lemony, citrus-forward, mineral-edged chardonnay instead of a fruit salady, buttery, oak-bomb then you’ve come to the right campsite. Clean, focused, lighter-styled and showing that rain-on-hot-rocks character that works itself into a slight saline character. It’s Chablis-like in its citrus dimensions and acidity. Tip: Be careful … Read More
Gabriele Meffre La Châsse Vin De France Chardonnay 2019
Gabriele Meffre La Châsse Vin De France Chardonnay 2019 $19 Lovers of lighter-styled, citrus-soaked chardonnay that focuses on fruit and not buckets of smoky oak, will love this wine. Fresh, electrically vibrant, its a taut, tense, tangelo-tastic style that’s named after the lavishly decorated ‘chests’ that the pontiff’s of 14th century Avignon used to store … Read More
Black Estate North Canterbury Young Vines Home Chardonnay 2019
Black Estate North Canterbury Young Vines Home Chardonnay 2019 $37 Certified organic and gloriously golden in the glass, this slightly cloudy, seriously sexy, citrus-saturated unfined, unfiltered chardonnay from the great folk at Black Estate. The fruit is handpicked and the ferment is kickstarted by yeasts present in the canopy itself then 100% fermented in barrel, … Read More
Lake Chalice Plume Marlborough Chardonnay 2016
Lake Chalice Plume Marlborough Chardonnay 2016 $49.99 Wow! If you’re looking for a chardonnay erupting with roast nectarine, grilled grapefruit and caramelised cedary oak notes then hit the brakes because you’ve come down the right cul de sac. Refreshing acidity, intense, prickly tannins, ripe, rich and generous on the palate, it’s a tropical road trip … Read More
Lime Rock Hill of Good Health Central Hawke’s Bay 2020
Lime Rock Hill of Good Health Central Hawke’s Bay 2020 $35 As soon as you take the first sniff, you’ll want to lift your glass and wish everyone around you ‘good health’. For Lime Rock, chardonnay hasn’t really been on the radar until recently and tasting this, I’m like “where has Lime Rock chardonnay been … Read More
Sacred Hill Riflemans Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019
Sacred Hill Riflemans Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019 $69.99 Sure you could spend seventy dollars on groceries, school fees or a 30minute neck and shoulder shiatsu – but will they deliver the same unparalleled taste-joy as sipping the new Riflemans with a large bowl of bacon and prawn spaghetti? Fat chance. Grilled grapefruit, roast nectarine and … Read More