Chardonnay

100% Chardonnay from Waitaki Valley in North Otago

Whole bunch pressed, wild yeast, lees stirring and fermented in oak prior to ageing for 8 months in 18% new oak.

The nose is elegantly full with focus, penetrating aromas of peach, citrus, oyster shells, spice and cream that follow through into the medium bodied palate.

Chardonnay with all the bells and fresh citrusy flavour notes adding depth and balance to the smooth creamy notes. Here's a wine that shows how exceptionally well Chardonnay grows in Marlborough. 

While California's Napa Valley is best known for its wine, it has become home to two distilleries in recent years. One of these is Loch & Union Distilling. Founded by Colin Baker and Chris Andrews, the centerpiece of their operation is a custom German-built set of stills. 

Loch & Union Barreled Gin is a limited barrel series celebrating the marriage between spirit, botanical, and oak. This unique spirit has a weighted creamy texture and is met with warm baking spices. Notes of butter, brown sugar, and caramel linger on the finish.

750mL | 43%ABV

THE DRINKING
With hand-picked Chardonnay grapes in late summer, this Blanc de Blancs is a rustic and unfussy wine with a foamy mousse and biscuit and freshly baked bread aromas. It?s refreshing, fruity and perky on the palate with layers of pear, cherry and orange zest. To be enjoyed during the summer months, well chilled to quell that dissolved CO2. Unfiltered and unfined, this is a charming lo-fi natural wine.

THE GROWING
We will always remember 2021 as the perfect vintage for our dry farmed vines; as though I had direct dial to Hughie the weather god, we were blessed with decent dollops of rain at the optimum times during the growing season, much appreciated as our vines were recovering from the drought conditions of 2020. The one brix a week rule book was thrown out the window in 2021 and we had to be on our toes, ready to pick at a moment's notice, as the brix (sugar levels) were rising on a daily basis.

THE MAKING
Hand-picked single clone 95 Chardonnay grapes from our 'Puriri' block were whole bunch pressed and the juice put into a stainless-steel tank where it was cold settled for 24 hours then racked into its fermentation tank. No yeast or additions were made, apart from some organic yeast nutrient, to help to complete the wild ferment. The decision when to bottle is always a challenging one, too much unfermented sugars and you have a too fizzy bottle rocket in your hands, too little sugars and you have all sausage without the sizzle. Much like the picking decision, I had to base my bottling decision on experience, taste and sugar levels. The ferment tank was chilled down to 2 degrees C for 48 hours then lifted onto my trailer, driven back to our vineyard and gravity bottled at Zeelandt Brewery by the same crew who picked the grapes.

TECHNICAL NOTES
PICKING DATE: 4 March 2021
pH: 3.38
ACIDITY: 5.47
RS: 1.34
BOTTLING: 7 April 2021
F(SO2): 8.8T
(SO2): 24

White Stones Chardonnay comes from a select 27 rows within Block 1 of the Adrianna Vineyard. The name refers to the ground beneath the vines which is covered with gravelly oval white stones.

The Adrianna vineyard is located at an elevation of almost 5,000 feet in the Gualtallary sub-district of the Tupungato region. The rocky soil prevents deep root growth and allows for ideal drainage conditions. These are very poor soils where the vines are constantly in conditions of stress. The cool nights allow for very slow ripening, optimal acid retention and low yields.

Sir George Fistonich's new family wine project is Cuvar; Croatian for 'the guardian', which is a good description of his role in the New Zealand wine industry. This wine is a beautiful rich and creamy Chardonnay with balance from fresh acidity that adds length and depth of flavour. 

Gorgeous dry sparkling rose made the same way as champagne by French-bornw, Marlborough-based wine pioneer, Daniel le Brun, who marked 40 years of winemaking in New Zealand in 2000. 

Le Brun pioneered methode traditionelle sparkling wines in New Zealand in the early 1980s, releasing his first bubbly in 1985 and marketing it as made the same way as champagne, only at a fraction of the cost. 

This toasty rich, full bodied pink number is made 100% from Pinot Noir grapes which were fermented to 12.5% ABV with 7.5 grams of residual sugar per litre ? almost bone dry and it tastes like it too, with that smidgeon of grapeyness adding beautiful balance. It was aged for 18 months on lees prior to disgorgement. Ongoing disgorgement means fresh wines remain on the market.