Chardonnay

Corofin puts the b in boutique; it's a small scale production owned and run by Mike and Anna Paterson in Marlborough. The couple source grapes from top notch vineyards in the region, using organically certified vineyards wherever possible. Their Chardonnay is made from a blend of clones 6, 5 and Mendoza. Barrel fermentation adds creamy notes and nutty flavours to the citrusy aromas.

Trinity Hill - The structure has a tight shape with the finesse and concentration that are hallmarks of Trinity Hill Chardonnay. It displays delicacy but richness and the beautifully linear acidity makes it a fantastic match with food.

An excellent partner with white meats and seafood dishes.

South Island Chardonnay is on a roll as this tasty drop from Mt Maude in Central Otago shows. Winemakers Sarah Kate and Dan Dineen use hand picked grapes from 27 years old vines to make this dry full bodied, creamy smooth wine. 

The grapes are foot stomped, basket pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine is aged in seasoned French oak to produce what they describe as a seamless wine. We agree. 

Try it. 

A Jura Chardonnay from 50 year old vines grown on West facing Lias Marls in Cesancey.

Aged in 500L barrels for two years.

The 2020 vintage was a warmer year, giving a resulting Salted Caramel & eucalyptus on the nose & Green apple, Honey, white flower & salty caramel flavours to the wine, with a real tension on the palate.

Elegant Chablis-like Chardonnay with creamy notes and balancing acidity due to the cool climate of Central Otago's Inlet Vineyard in Bannockburn. Grapes in this wine were picked in two lots with the first pressed directly to barrel and the second lot left overnight then whole bunch pressed to barrel where they were fermented with wild yeasts and stirred weekly to encourage flavour integration from lees (yeast cells from fermentation) contact. The wine was aged in French oak, just 16% of it new and then bottled unfined but filtered.

Beautiful creamy new Chablis with a smooth body and lovely balance of crisp fresh citrus flavours - layers of lemon zest, creamy nutty aromas and ripe grapefruit all vie for attention in each lively sip of this dry white. Chablis is hot property for lovers of great Chardonnay and is also the name of one of the coolest climates in the wine world; the northernmost part of Burgundy in north east France. 

Chardonnay is what made Gisborne famous and one sip of this and you?ll see why. Complex with layered citrus- and stone fruit aromas, lifted by savoury yeast and nutty oak characters, the palate sensation is both fresh and textured. The wine delivers Gisborne?s bold elegance with a long and seamless finish. Ripe and weighty fruit flavours without the heat of excess alcohol. Big wine, beautiful wine, with a taste that will linger for ages.

This flagship Chardonnay expresses a medley of peach and melon flavours, overlaid with toasty oak. A rich, ripe style with finely integrated oak and a taut but harmonious acidity on the finish. - Matawhero.

Louis Jadot owns one of the largest holdings of top level vineyards in Burgunday so has access to outstanding grapes in good volumes, so wines like this lively fresh young Chardonnay benefit hugely. This wine is a regional blend from Burgundy, made from grapes grown in both the Cotes d?Or and Macon, which combine to add flesh, weight and depth along with purity of acidity for freshness. 

Matt Dicey, Winemaker notes:

“Generous aromas of peach, naval orange and meyer lemons with acacia blossom and a touch of brioche in the background lead to a creamy, and textural palate. Integrated nougat oak, with subtle spice and hints of flint are showcased on the palate. A fine, precise acidity flows through the wine to a persistent finish.” 

Winery notes:

Ghost Town Chardonnay is made from small parcels from our Lowburn Valley Vineyard in Central Otago. Hand-picked and handcrafted crafted in very limited quantities this wine showcases the unique personality of our diverse microclimate and soils. Unfined and vegan friendly.

Rich layers of concentrated fruit held in check by crisp but balanced acidity, which marries beautifully with its lemon zest flavours and creamy texture. Premier Cru Chablis is one of the great wines of the world and this one comes from the relatively new Domaine Pattes Loup, a 24 hectare certified organic vineyard owned by Thomas Pico in the village of Courgis in Burgundy's northern outpost.  

Pico was inspired by his grape growing grandfather "Not to make the same mistakes that I did, which led him to stop spraying his vines with herbicides when he returned to Courgis in 2004 after several years working in Nuits St George. First he stopped spraying herbicides, then he began to transition to organic certification and he has since forged a name synonymous with high quality and integrity every step of the way. The name Pattes Loup means wolf's paws and is named after the block of vineyard he inherited from his family.

Elegant and refined with a backbone of pristine fruit and balanced acidity, this finely concentrated Chardonnay has a lovely freshness and finesse and will become more complex as it evolves over time. It is drinking well now, and will develop beautifully over 5-7 years.

VINEYARDS
Old vine Mendoza Chardonnay was sourced from two sites in Hawke?s Bay.
The Mangatahi site is inland and elevated and later ripening, while Bridge Pa
ripens Chardonnay beautifully with their red metal soils.
Low yielding vines, open canopy management, managed irrigation and Sustainable
Winegrowing NZ farmed were common to both sites. The Mendoza clone with their
typical hen and chicken bunches produced fruit of great intensity and balance,
and structured acidity. This Chardonnay was hand harvested and cooled overnight.

WINEMAKING
The cooled bunches were hand sorted then whole bunched pressed. The majority of
juice was cold settled then racked to barrel. Fermentation was in new and seasoned
French oak, with selected cultured yeast and indigenous yeast, for added complexity.
A combination of 500L puncheons and 225L barriques were employed. Lees stirring
post fermentation was regular and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel.
The Chardonnay matured in barrel for 9 months before blending and bottling.

TASTING NOTE
An elegant Chardonnay which focuses on the beautiful structure so evident in this
grape variety. Pristine fruit and balanced acidity are the backbone, enhanced with
seamless texture and mouthfeel. Citrus notes, particularly grapefruit pith abound, gracefully supported by sweet French oak.

Radburnd Cellars 

Mount Beautiful by name and by nature, this full bodied, peachy South Island Chardonnay is beautifully balanced by freshness and acidity of flavours of red apple, stone fruits and nectarines, leading to a creamy, textured palate that is medium bodied. Flavours include layers of buttered brioche and the wine finishes clean and crisp with flint-like minerality.

The Crater Rim Waipara Valley Chardonnay is a youthful, estate-grown wine, hand-picked and fermented and lees-aged for 11 months in French oak barriques (partly new). This wine is a bright, light yellow-green, with a fragrant, citrusy bouquet. The palate is mouth-filling, with good intensity of grapefruit-like flavours, slightly buttery and toasty.