NZ Chardonnay

Bright and pure aromas of melon, stone fruit and citrus, interwoven with soft butter, toasty oak and cashew. Full bodied, with an elegant mouthfeel elevated by a soft buttery flow and a textural phenolic line. The fruit has concentration and intensity, compliment the toasty oak details with a long finish. Drink now until ~2028.

One of Central Otago's best kept secrets - great whites made from Chardonnay, a grape that thrives in the deep south as this beauty shows. It's full bodied, dry and made from certified organic grapes grown at the Morrison Vineyard at Pisa; one of the most highly regarded sub regions for grape growing in Central Otago. 

Grapes were pressed straight to barrel for fermentation with native vineyard yeasts, entirely in older French oak with no new oak at all. The wine was then matured in the same barrels for a year. 

The result is a beautiful dry, richly textured, smooth and creamy Chardonnay balanced by great southern acidity which gives Central Otago a distinctive edge when producing the world's most popular white wine. 

The home and winery of Mount Edward is situated in Gibbston, 25 kilometres from Queenstown.  Vineyards are there, in Bannockburn and at PIsa. 

Winemaker Kevin Judd makes one of Marlborough's best Chardonnays every year and this one is full bodied with intense ripe flavours of grapefruit, burnt orange and white nectarine, which mingle with savoury aromas of smoked almonds, hazelnut meringue and the heady fragrance of freshly cut hay. The mealy savouriness carries through onto a rich, textural palate, evidence of this wine?s low-intervention winemaking. An intricate bone-dry style that is highly concentrated with a distinct flintiness, tight structure and crisp citrussy finish.

Tony Bish's Golden Egg Chardonnay is one of the best in the country and  is fermented in an egg shaped concrete fermentation vat, which is designed to maximise the fullness and creamy style of Chardonnay at its smoothest, while retaining vibrant acidity. This is a stellar wine. One of the best from the Bay and from the country. Outstanding. 

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. 

Here's a Chardonnay with the Midas touch; it's big, it's smooth and it's creamy as anything with all the bells and delicious whistles that Chardonnay lovers enjoy. It's  made with grapes grown on the Howell's Vineyard in Hawke's Bay, a site that seems to provide the magic ingredients of deliciousness in a wide range of varietals grown on it. 

Nga Waka was established in Martinborough in 1988 and is a family-owned winegrower producing small volumes of fine Martinborough wine from estate-grown grapes.

The Home Block Chardonnay is Nga Waka's flagship white wine. It is 100% barrel fermented and goes through 100% malolactic fermentation, remaining in barrel for 12 months with lees stirring monthly.

The wine is a pale gold colour and is rich and complex with deep, intense spicy and mineral flavours underpinned by tight-grained French oak, barrel fermentation and the malolactic component.

Coddington Chardonnay is made with grapes grown on a West Auckland vineyard owned by Tim and Angela Coddington, who have provided grapes to Kumeu River Wines since 1998; originally used in the Estate Chardonnay.

The grapes from this vineyard has since proven to have such rich, distinctive flavours that the Brajkovich family decided to create a single vineyard Chardonnay, initally in 2006. 

Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay is ripe, peachy and rich with supple approachability, density, concentration and luscious creaminess. This makes the wine easy to drink at an early stage and it will age well too.

Kumeu River Wines began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Kat? 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. 

Rays Road is Kumeu River?s new vineyard site in Hawkes Bay. This limestone hillside is at 180 m altitude, with a northerly aspect. It is dry-farmed to yield high quality grapes for wine under the Rays Road name for our Kumeu River label.  This Chardonnay was hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed and fermented with wild yeast in older French Oak barrels to give a wine that is zesty and fragrant, with mineral complexity that is very true to its site.

Mate?s Vineyard Chardonnay was the first single vineyard Chardonnay producing by Kumeu River Wines and named in homage to the late Mate Brajkovich, whose four children run the winery today.

The grapes are grown solely on a single vineyard, sloping hillside site opposite the winery in Kumeu, West Auckland. 

Kumeu River Wines began life as San Marino Wines in 1944 when Croatian immigrant couple, Mick and Kate 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. 

Hunting Hill is a vineyard that was first planted in 1982 and became a significant part of the original Kumeu River Chardonnay blend. Hunting Hill is very pretty and fragrant, with its lemon/lime blossom aromas and hint of orange. The palate has a supple texture and lingering flavour which provides a long finish, and it has a salty, mineral tang on the end.

PURE, FRESH & TEXTURAL BARREL AGED CHARDONNAY

Bright, light yellow/green, it is mouth filling and vibrant with hints of stonefruit and citrus. Creamy and textural with a refreshing dry mineral finish. Approachable and delicious.

Vintage
2023 was a challenging vintage for Hawke’s Bay. Intensive viticulture work was imperative throughout the growing season.  High rainfall, humidity, reduced sunshine hours and Cyclone Gabrielle hitting the region early February was the icing on the cake.  A silver lining was the harvest was weeks behind a normal growing season which mean’t very slow ripening and high acids so grape maturity levels were behind when the cyclone hit. As the season unfolded and settled into autumn it was a very late pick for a lot of the varieties, in some respects a saving grace.

Vineyards
Kokako, Ohiti Valley and Ascot, Havelock North

Winemaking
90% Kokako Vineyard, Ohiti Valley 10%  Ascot Vineyard, Havelock North.  No SO2. Pressed to tank for cold settling overnight. Racked clean to barrel. Natural fermentation and malo-lactic fermentation to completion. Aged in matured French oak barrels on lees for 9 months.  Final Blend, barrel selection to taste.

pH 3.56 TA 7.0 g/L Alc 13.0 %v/v

100% hand-picked Chardonnay, crushed and pressed into old Burgundian French oak barrels for wild yeast fermentation until dry. The wine was matured in barrel for 14-16 months during which time it underwent full malolactic fermentation.

This is a complex Chardonnay with multiple layers of ripe fruit and richness, along with a chalky minerality on the nose. The palate combines fruit weight and balanced acidity with a tight yet generous structure. This is followed by a long lingering pithy citrus finish with and hints of savouriness.

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.

Our Iris Chardonnay comes from the gracious slopes of our Čuvar Terraces Vineyard in Bayview. First planted by George Fistonich in 1986 (he was yet to become Sir), this vineyard has one of the best views in the bay - looking out to the Pacific Ocean. This environment shapes the sunshine of this wine.

The forthright bouquet introduces bursts of candied tropical fruits intertwined with notes reminiscent of warm fruit crumble. Gentle oak wraps around the palate of balanced acid and ripe fruit. Nothing is too dominant — the fruit, oak, acid and flavours all sing in harmony