Chardonnay

Martinborough Vineyard has a long and illustrious history as one of the first four vineyards and wineries in Martinborough in the Wairarapa. It was established in 1980 by Kiwis who are passionate about wine, in particular Pinot Noir. 

Today the business is owned by Californian based Bill Foley of Foley Family Vineyards. The winemaker is Paul Mason, who makes this full bodied, dry, creamy Chardonnay from 25 year old vines on the home block vineyard at the winery in Martins Road, Martinborough.

Gorgeous dry sparkling rose made the same way as champagne by French born, 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. 

Tasting Notes
Aromas of ripe peach abound, with subtle undertones of buttery oak and a refreshing citrus acid backbone, adding layers of complexity. A balance of fresh fruit, malolactic and oak influences have resulted in a full bodied wine with stone fruit flavours, buttery, nutty notes and Meyer lemon freshness.

Winemaker's Notes
100% fermented and aged in older French oak barrels, sur lie. 100% MLF. 10 months in barrel before being blended to tank, ready for bottling.


Food Match
Roast chicken & mushroom risotto
Roast Salmon with herby cous cous salad
Butternut Squash Cannelloni

Full bodied, dry, smooth and creamy wine, which has great tension and finely balanced acidity in every succulent sip. Here's a Chardonnay that succeeds admirably in highlighting all the bells and whistles that white wine lovers enjoy in their favourite full bodied white, but also has the restraint of a beautifully balanced wine. 

Organic certification

The organic story at Seresin

One of the greatest things about Seresin Estate is the organic certification. This came relatively early on for Seresin, who was dismayed by the amount used and the impacts of man made chemicals, which were routinely and frequently sprayed on vines. His early adopting philosophy of organic certification paved a positive path for the integrity of the wines as well as leading others to follow suit.

Rosie's Block Chardonnay captures the best of Nelson in a full bodied, beautifully balanced and crisp Chardonnay with creamy nuances and a lingering dry finish. 

It is named after Rosie Finn, second generation wine family member and daughter of Tim and Judy Finn, who co founded Neudorf Vineyards.

The Elspeth range is Mills Reef's top tier line of wines, made from their own vineyards in the Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay.

"This distinguished single vineyard Chardonnay exudes presence and finesse. The palate is wonderfully mouth-filling and creamy, with intense peach and apricot flavours in harmony with fine French oak seasoning, leading to a satisfyingly long soft and spicy finish. Instantly appealing, enjoy now or allow to age gracefully with careful cellaring." - Winemaker's notes.

The 2019 Zen is the best vintage yet produced of this outstanding full bodied, nutty, creamy, new world take on one of the great classic wines of the world. 

Tony Bish is Hawke's Bay best known, most dedicated Chardonnay specialist and Zen is his top wine. He has forged a name for himself as Hawke's Bay's king of Chardonnay and he named Zen after a challenging year because he felt zen when making it. The grapes all come from the highly rated Skeetfield Vineyard in the Bay and the wine was aged in a Taransaud oak ovum, a large egg shaped fermentation vessel, which was made specially for Tony, to create a full bodied, elegant, smooth Chardonnay in an environment that optimises lees contact during winemaking. 

Chablis is one of the great white wine regions of the world in its northernmost location in Burgundy. This wine is a beautiful balanced expression of Chardonnay with fresh aromas of white flowers, brioche and leafy notes. The palate reveals power, richness and finness with mineral, mellowness and vivacious flavours of white peach, citrus and creamy mouthfeel in a complex dry white. 

Commercial description

With our Chardonnay we give a maceration of the whole bunches before pressing which increases the amount of grape solids in the juice to give greater intensity of varietal character and structure. Once fermentation is finished we add small amounts of sulphur at each topping to preserve the freshness and fruitfulness of the wine. We do not stir the lees or allow the wine to go through malolactic fermentation. 

Man O? War Chardonnay exhibits intense ripe stone fruit characters with subtle hints passionfruit seed and a nutty lees influence.

A small volume, high quality new Chardonnay from Marlborough, which is gaining huge traction with critics, both nationally and globally. 

What the critics say

BOB CAMPBELL MW

?Novum deserves to be on every wine lovers radar? 

JANCIS ROBINSON MW, UK

?Very smart nose fully vindicates my enthusiasm for NZ Chardonnay.

If only all white burgundy smelt this clean and compelling. Crystalline fruit. Good, medium weight of pure fruit that?s already intense but promises much more in the future. Long and complex. No playing around with reduction. A beautiful wine.?

95 Points, Cameron Douglas MS, NZ

"An intriguing almost sensual bouquet of Chardonnay. Aromas of red apple and sweet peach tea, lees spices and white flowers, flint and chalk-like minerality, and a light dusting of fragrant baking spices. Very sophisticated and quite pure on the palate - dry, complex, even and lengthy. A precise palate weight with a youthful acid line, extremely fine wood tannins and fine lees texture. Flavours of white and yellow orchard fruits, wood spices and fine stone-like minerality. A delicious example, modern, youthful, complex and intriguing. Lots to like. Drink now and through 2026." 

Rays Road is Kumeu River’s new vineyard site in Hawkes Bay, planted on limestone soils at 180 metres above sea level, with a northerly aspect. The vineyard is dry farmed and this Chardonnay is made from 100% hand picked grapes, whole bunch pressed then fermented with wild yeasts in older French oak barrels. The result is a wine with  approachable and complex flavours, full of zesty citrus notes with a background minerality. On the palate, barrel maturation and malolactic fermentation has given this wine a richness and textural quality which is backed up by the wine’s great acidity, which provides it with good aging potential.

Kumeu River Wines began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Katé Brajkovich, bought a small property with a vineyard on it. Their descendents now own and run Kumeu River Wines, which produces 250,000 bottles of wine annually from its owns 30 hectares of vineyards in Kumeu and from another 10 hectares, owned by local grape growers. 

Hunter's Chardonnay offers incredibly good value for money. Complex, consistent and creamy, it has crisp notes that add great balance to such a modestly priced, affordable wine. 

Fermentation in 500 litre French oak puncheons with wild yeasts provides a smooth, full body to this impressive Chardonnay, which is made from grapes grown on three different vineyards in Marlborough.

Grapes in this wine were grown in Rapaura, Renwick and Omaka sub regions of Marlborough, all on vineyards that the Hunter's team has used for many years now. This wine is incredibly consistent in style with richly flavoursome citrus, nectarine and creamy flavour notes, supported by a firm backbone of acidity which adds drive, length and freshness to every succulent sip.

What the critics say

Aotearoa Regional Wine Competition, October 2021

4.5 stars ? Winestate Magazine, October 2021

Gold, 94/100 ? New World Wine Awards, August 2021

93/100 ? The Shout, Cameron Douglas MS, March 2021

One of New Zealand's top five Chardonnays, in our view, and consistently outstanding, both on release and for the long haul in a dark, cool cellar. The next vintage of the great Pegasus Bay VIrtuoso Chardonnay is 2020 and the wine will be released during 2024; according to the winemaking team at family owned, Pegasus Bay Winery, they are tasting the wine regularly and will release it "When we feel it is at its optimum".  We look forward to sharing this great wine with you, our customers, when it arrives in. 

And in the meantime, for a powerful full bodied Chardonnay with all the bells and whistles, we await the next vintage of Virtuoso. 

The wine regularly spends 50% in new French oak. It's the top Chardonnay from Pegasus Bay winery in North Canterbury. Flavours span the range from candied citrusy acidity of lemons, ripe orange and a hint of mandarin and white peach. It's a blend of the tastiest barrels of Chardonnay each year and will continue to evolve beautifully for the next five to six years, potentially even longer.