Radburnd Cellars Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $85 Gorgeously golden in the glass, this debut chardonnay from legendary winemaker Kate Radburnd is crafted from old-vine, Mendoza-clone fruit sourced from two vineyards in two different sub-regions. The Bridge Pa fruit adds weight and minerality, while the Mangatahi fruit injects classic stonefruit succulence and structure. Handpicked, hand-sorted, whole-bunch … Read More
Chardonnay
O:TU Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019
O:TU Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019 $19 Lovers of soft, creamy, peach-laced chardonnay will be all over this wine crafted by winemaker Jan Kux. Smooth, soothing and saturated in tropical fruit, it’s an ultra-friendly, attractive little sip for sure. http://www.otuwine.com
Taylors St Andrews Clare Valley Chardonnay 2016
Taylors St Andrews Clare Valley Chardonnay 2016 $49.99 Whenever a new vintage of St Andrews chardonnay lands on our shores and zooms over to my office, the joy is electric. Electric like a disco. The kind of disco that John Travolta would go to. That’s how boogie wonderland my mood becomes. Super-juicy and packed solid … Read More
Bushmere Estate Classic Gisborne Chardonnay 2018
Bushmere Estate Classic Gisborne Chardonnay 2018 $25 While this wine is super-creamy and nutty on the nose, there’s an explosion of grapefruit and toasted peaches as soon as you manage to get the glass into your gob, closely followed by a gurgle of lemon and a pinch of pineapple. David and Shona Egan have been … Read More
Bristol Farm Nelson Chardonnay 2019
Bristol Farm Nelson Chardonnay 2019 ($39) Winemaker Brendan Seal is best known for his Urbn Vino branded pinot noir wines which he makes at his inner-city winery in Dunedin. His other, more under-the-radar label, is Bristol Farm. Chardonnay is the first 2019 wine of his I’ve tasted (unlabelled sample) and it’s telling me that Nelson … Read More
Moana Park Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 (2nd batch)
Moana Park Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 (2nd batch) $14.99 (http://www.winecentral.co.nz) – $25 One thing Dan Barker knows how to do is make darn nice chardonnay. This is a second batch of later-bottled chardonnay created from 100% Clone 95 fruit from 13 year old vines. It has a different flavour spectrum to the previous 2018 Moana … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019 $23 This is one of my absolute favourite new release chardonnays from Hawke’s Bay. Grown in the limestone-rich soils behind Te Mata peak, on the Waimarama Road, it’s a succulent, citrus-soaked style that shows skilled use of oak and great attention to detail. Grapefruit, pineapple and peachy punchiness on … Read More
Askerne Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Askerne Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $32.90 Prepare for a juggernaut of jungle juice tropicality, electrifying acidity, spunky citrus and a dollop of delicious, biscuity oak and smoke on the finish. It’s a sexy chardonnay indeed and clearly the team at Askerne had a very good handle on its potential as soon as the grapes … Read More
Swift Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019
Swift Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2019 $30 Winemaker Lauren Swift has named this her ‘First Edition’ and for a debut solo release, it’s a stunner. It’s all in the barrel she reckons. She’s used Clone 15 fruit grown in the Bridge Pa Triangle and poured the third fill off the press into just one, second-use barrel. … Read More
Lime Hill Vineyard Wairarapa Chardonnay 2018
Fans of discovering all that’s new and groovy in the local wine scene will want to fill their boots with the newest little hero in the Wairarapa, Lime Hill. It’s a small but perfectly formed joint wine venture of Karl Johner of Johner Estate in Gladstone with his winemaker Raphael Burki. Located on a hillside … Read More