Sacred Hill Single Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $25 Sourced from their ‘Riflemans’ vineyard (which is fast becoming known as a national treasure) this new chardonnay ticks all the boxes for fruit weight, bright acidity, caramelised, coconutty oak and citrus complexity in the mid-palate and finish. It’s richly structured, toasty and shows a whisker of … Read More
Chardonnay
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $24.95 If you’re a fan of butter, cashews, cashew butter and all manner of buttery toasty things, then this new release will have you spreading the love. Ripe stonefruit notes merge with said roasty, nutty, buttery layers and build a smooth, peachy finish and generally give you a … Read More
Hunter’s Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay 2017
Hunter’s Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay 2017 $34.90 I’m LOVING the new Hunter’s Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay 2017 ($34.90) because with its 100% barrel fermentation in 40% new and 60% 2yo French oak barrels, 20% malolactic fermentation and 12 months’ barrel ageing, is just an exquisite thing to sip. Fresh peach, pineapple and brioche flavours burst from the … Read More
Pask Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018
Pask Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2018 $18 With its attractive aromas of peach jam on a buttered crumpet, this shiny new chardonnay from the team at Pask is bound to be a big hit. Not hugely toasty, just a sliver of sawdust amongst the buckets of citrus and stonefruit makes this nutty glass of niceness really … Read More
Te Awanga Estate The Loom Hawke’s Bay Reserve Chardonnay 2018
Te Awanga Estate The Loom Hawke’s Bay Reserve Chardonnay 2018 $34 Glossy, golden and going gangbusters on the pineapple and peach front, this Rod McDonald creation just powers across the palate leaving a comets tail of caramelised spices, buttered crumpet crumbs, grapefruit zest and tropical tastiness abound. It’s silky, succulent and seriously sexy to sip. … Read More
Pegasus Bay Virtuoso Waipara Chardonnay 2016
Pegasus Bay Virtuoso Waipara Chardonnay 2016 $60 I don’t know what Mat Donaldson and the team at Pegasus Bay did in their past lives, but clearly they were lovely to puppies, helped lots of elderly people across the street, paid their taxes and put teaspoons of sugar water out for tired bumblebees to drink, because … Read More
Black Estate Home North Canterbury Chardonnay 2018
Black Estate Home North Canterbury Chardonnay 2018 $42 The Home Vineyard sits 6 kilometres north east of the Waipara Junction, in the Omihi sub-district of North Canterbury’s Waipara Valley. The un-grafted, Mendoza-clone chardonnay vines this wine was made from were planted in 1994 and since 2010 have been grown using organic and biodynamic practices, resulting … Read More
Mahurangi River Winery Field of Grace Reserve Matakana Chardonnay 2014
Mahurangi River Winery Field of Grace Reserve Matakana Chardonnay 2014 $54 Incredibly glossy and golden when poured, this chardonnay from a tiny corner of Matakana is absolutely roaring into life after sitting quietly for a couple of years just building its confidence and character. Complex smoke and toast notes merge with roast stonefruit, lemon pith … Read More
Te Awanga Estate One Off Underground Organic Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Te Awanga Estate One Off Underground Organic Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $33 Grown out in the rocky soils of what the locals call ‘the RD9’ (or Maraekakaho to the townies), this organic chardonnay comes courtesy of the skilled winemaking wizardry of Rod McDonald. Wait. How rocky are the soils I hear you ask? Ok. So … Read More
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018
Maison Noire Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018 $25 With its nectarine and peachy creaminess and with cashew characters abound, this new chardonnay from Guillaume Thomas has got instant crowd-appeal. Richly structured, but showing fresh, frisky acidity, it’s a juicy, easy drink with solid stonefruit complexity on the mid-palate and finish. www.maisonnoire.nz