Tony Bish Fat & Sassy Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2022 $22 Pronounced nectarine and lemon notes on the nose lead to a palate awash with stonefruit and preserved lemon layers wrapped around a sawdusty, toasty core. If ‘fatness’ to you means ‘creaminess’ then that’s not what you’ll receive, but if you’re a fan of toasty, spicy … Read More
Chardonnay
Mt Difficulty Ghost Town Lowburn Valley Chardonnay 2019
Mt Difficulty Ghost Town Lowburn Valley Chardonnay 2019 $33-$43 Gorgeously golden in the glass and glowing with cashew and grilled peach aromas, this chardonnay has a beautifully edgy energy to it. Named after the deserted relics of the goldmining era dotted around Central Otago’s river valleys, this wine washes gold across the nose and palate. … Read More
Riverby Estate Marlborough Chardonnay 2021
Riverby Estate Marlborough Chardonnay 2021 $28 Deeply golden in the glass and groaning with toasty, roasty, peachy goodness in the glass. Classic baked apple, grilled citrus and stonefruit notes wash across the nose and palate, hints of pineapple wrap around a core of caramelised oak to create a super-fresh impression. Bright, energetic and a joy … Read More
Montana M Gisborne Chardonnay 2022
Montana M Gisborne Chardonnay 2022 $16 Bright, peachy, boosted with buttered toast and showing fresh, nutty notes and a lick of pineapple on the finish. A crowd-pleaser for sure. Weddings? check. Parties? check. Anything? check! Widely Available
Blackenbrook Family Reserve Nelson Chardonnay 2020
Blackenbrook Family Reserve Nelson Chardonnay 2020 $49 As a fan of creamy complexity, I leapt up, down, and sideways for this new release from one of our favourite Nelsonian producers. Creamy coconut, almond, and nectarine niceness abound in this smooth, soothing chardonnay. It’s a style that’s also toasty, calm, assured, and groovy enough to get … Read More
On Giants’ Shoulders Martinborough Chardonnay 2021
On Giants’ Shoulders Martinborough Chardonnay 2021 $45 I tasted bottle number 1143 of 1578 produced Superb chardonnay here from an exciting Martinborough producer. Its highly refined nose is crammed with baked nectarine and charred pineapple characters and it totally twins where taste is concerned. Youthfully zingy textures help its stylish, stonefruit flavours race around the … Read More
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2022
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay 2022 $39.99 Bright pineapple and luscious baked nectarine, grilled grapefruit and roast almond aromas and those core elements wash across the palate as well. Bright and juicy and roaring with peachy complexity. The textures in this wine are beautifully balanced, zippy-fresh and crunchy, adding extra oomph to its already powerful … Read More
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Estate Chardonnay 2022
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Estate Chardonnay 2022 $24 Paired with Annabel Langbein’s Mediterranean Salmon in the NZ Herald Nov 4th 2023 Absolutely erupting with peach crumble, grilled grapefruit and soft pineapple characters, this is a perky, punchy style that’s brisk, refreshing and roaring with personality and freshness. A roasty, toasty crowd-pleaser for certain. Summer wedding? … Read More
Decibel Testify Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2022
Decibel Testify Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2022 $44 Gloriously golden in the glass this is a creamy, nutty, roast nectarine-scented chardonnay that’s the result of blending fruit from Te Awanga fruit with vineyards inland. 100% barrel fermented, it’s a style that’s easy, fleshy, softly peachy and dangerously drinkable. There’s a seam of minerality rolling through the … Read More
Tony Bish Wines Heartwood Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021
Tony Bish Wines Heartwood Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2021 $40 Wow! 100% barrel-fermented in 3-year-old seasoned French oak, it’s deeply golden and glossy in the glass and bursting with scorched peach, grilled grapefruit and roasty, toasty goodness on the nose and palate. Stylish, seamless and super-refreshing, it has excellent citrus weight, a hint of creamy complexity, … Read More