Black Cottage Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2022 $18 Paired with Annabel Langbein’s Celebration Salmon pie in the NZ Herald July 15th 2023 Chardonnay is 100% my go-to for anything salmony. There’s just something about the clean, peachy, citrus-laced characters in chardonnay which snuggle up to salmon sensationally well. This new release from Black Cottage has classic … Read More
Chardonnay
Pask Gimblett Gravels Declaration Chardonnay 2020
Pask Gimblett Gravels Declaration Chardonnay 2020 $40 Paired with: Annabel Langbein’s Leeks with Honey Mustard dressing in the NZ Herald Sat July 8th 2023 Now you may ask, why would I drop fourty dollars on something that I’m only going to sip with some dressed leeks? And I would answer that these aren’t just any … Read More
Shield Nelson Chardonnay 2021
Shield Nelson Chardonnay 2021 Classic stonefruit aromatics with a hint of grilled grapefruit lead to a robust, toast-edged palate, roast almonds and baked peach characters in the mid-palate. Fresh yet comforting, with warming alcohol and it has a dried herb edge on the finish.
Ara Marlborough Chardonnay 2022
Ara Marlborough Chardonnay 2022 $16-$25 Paired with: Annabel Langbein’s Salmon Noodle Bowl in NZ Herald Canvas July 1 2023 Salmon and Chardonnay go together like Sonny and Cher, like Kylie and Jason, like Art and Matilda. Yet as soon as you pair the silky, peachy, softly-toasty tones of Ara’s new release with the fleshy, slipperiness … Read More
Chateau Garage Lyons Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2022
Chateau Garage Lyons Vineyard Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2022 $50 Many winemakers call themselves ‘garagistes’ these days because they do things on a small scale. However I’ve been inside Ollie Powrie’s tiny, old-as-the-hills garden shed, where he makes his wines, and there is literally no room to swing, well anything really. Arms could almost stretch from … Read More
Mora Central Otago Chardonnay 2022
Mora Central Otago Chardonnay 2022 $45 Central Otago chardonnay has its own signature and I’m a total convert. Crafted from a blend of Mendoza-clone and own-rooted Clone 6 fruit grown on 28yo vines in their Eden Vineyard in the Pisa sub-region. A full malolactic fermentation has injected a soft, creamy, cashew character which washes across … Read More
B & B Big and Buttery Barrel Fermented California Chardonnay 2021
B & B Big and Buttery Barrel Fermented California Chardonnay 2021 $20-$22 Totally living up to its name, this is a California classic that’ll definitely appeal to lovers of an old-school, oaky, butterscotchy style. Showing a smoky element from the French oak barrels used combined with a vein of vanilla from a proportion of American … Read More
Matawhero Barrel Fermented Gisborne Chardonnay 2021
Matawhero Barrel Fermented Gisborne Chardonnay 2021 $31 Paired with Annabel Langbein’s Roasted cauliflower and blue cheese soup in the NZ Herald CANVAS magazine Sat June 17th 2023 What to do when two of your favourite things present themselves in one dish? Add one more right! One of the great wonders of the modern age is … Read More
Pyramid Valley Springs North Canterbury Chardonnay 2020
Pyramid Valley Springs North Canterbury Chardonnay 2020 $85 Part of their new ‘Pastures’ collection (which replaces the original appellation series developed by founders Claudia and the late Mike Weersing), it’s crafted from organically farmed, own-rooted, 40+ yo vines, the oldest chardonnay vines in the area. And it’s stunning stuff. Why? Because from the second you … Read More
Two Rivers Clos Des Pierres Marlborough Chardonnay 2022
Two Rivers Clos Des Pierres Marlborough Chardonnay 2022 $30 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