I have continued with organising these benchmarking session of each varietal – that I started back in 2019, and I would like to make a particular point of thanking those who send in samples and help to keep this independent view of New Zealand wines able to keep on keeping on. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sessions that come around every couple of years seem to be the most popular, in terms of entries. And the articles revealing the results of the tasting (and you are reading now) draw the most eyeballs of anything that gets added to the website through the year.
There was a discussion amongst the tasting group that we could split the wines up into sub-$30 and over-$30 classes, but to be honest, I like the idea that any wine could win this judging. I also don’t want to say to any wine “there’s your box – you go in there” or that they don’t deserve to be at the same table as another wine, due to RRP? However, for the first time, there is a short list of what I’d consider to be the ‘bargain buys’ – whether they made the Top 10 bottles or not, at the end of the Top 10 list.
The wines sent in for this tasting covered all bases, from deep in Central Otago and all the way up to Northland in the North island. A few wines had corks, but mostly they were under screwcap. I ask for ‘current vintage’ and tend to receive a wide-ish range of vintages – this time, mostly 2022 and ‘23s.
As you’ll see, many of the wines that made the Top 10 list are iconic New Zealand wines, and they would show well amongst a tasting of Chardonnays from across the globe. The list is simply made up by adding up the collective marks (out of 100) and dividing them. If there’s a tie, then the Boss (David) gets to choose which he felt showed best on the day.
Onto the winning wines, and then that ‘Bargain Buy’ list:
#1 Clearview Reserve 2022
A golden glow in the glass. “Elegant and serious” said one judge. Packed with ripe juice and with a noticeable toasty oak note on the nose and into the palate. Pink grapefruit, lemon peel, cashew nut, golden peach, hay, green olive and baking spices. That unctuous fruit just eats up the oak though. Great drive of acidity, with a flow through the palate and into a finish of sumptuous length. This was also in our list (at no.5) in the last Top 10 Tasting in 2022.
I’m hoping to get a few words of wisdom from Clearview Estate owner, Tim Turvey, about the vintage and the wine – will fill in the details and update when I hear from the Te Awanga legend.
#2 Church Road ‘1’ 2022
“The complete package” was one of the tasting notes for this wine. A bold perfume with citrus and a salad of exotic flavours like pineapple, melon and fig. Fresh, focussed and tight on the palate with a super balance of oak, acid and a slatey minerality. Agile throughout, but with a richness to the plush texture that adds breadth and fleshes out everything. A pithy, drying finish of great length.
#3 Kumeu River Mate’s Vineyard 2023
The winner from in the last Top 10 Tasting in 2022, still on the podium this time around. “A classic New Zealand Chardonnay style” wrote one of the panel. The nose is tight and ethereal, not giving much away, but comes alive on the palate. Lemon curd, pear, oatmeal and hazelnut. Texture is key, with a yoghurt-like swaddle to the back of the palate. Oak is masterfully judged, and the finish is very, very long. A great effort in a very tricky vintage.
#4 Trinity Hill 125 Gimblett 2022
A vibrant scent, with an almond brioche note above – aromas of grapefruit, white peach, lemon and orange blossom. Real power, presence and a vitality to the palate. “Zesty, fresh acidity” made one judge sit up. There is an oak influence here – rich and toasted – but just embracing the fruit, not dominating. Some savoury elements of green olive and tarragon adds another layer. The dry finish is long and satisfying.
#5 Tony Bish Skeetfield 2022
An inviting bouquet, offering red apple, nectarine, beurre blanc, chamomile, cardamom and lemon blossom. Delicately balanced – plush, but with precise, concentrated power. There’s an oatmeal, nougat note, and an obvious toast of oak. A dynamic line of acidity gives line. Add in the texture that surrounds it all, adding harmony… and it’s “all quite seamless”.
#6 Blank Canvas Reed Vineyard 2023
A delicious bouquet, with a bold blend of funk and fruit. A flinty struck-match flintiness over some zesty citrus, quince and nectarine notes. Quite “a distinctive minerality” was noted – dry and stony through the palate. A really powerful expression, with weight and zesty acidity to offset and add drive and length through the palate. Complex, with great concentration and coltish energy.
#7 Greywacke 2022
Effusive, appetising aromas of peach, satsuma, sweetcorn, golden apple, lemon peel with a struck match, smoky minerality, and a note of floral honeysuckle. A decent weight on the palate – but there is more elegance and restraint than the nose suggests. Just a lovely glass of Chardonnay.
#8 Helio 2023
A vibrant pale green colour in the glass, with a perfume of citrus, pear, almond, cucumber and sorrel; then top floral notes of ginger flower and orchid. A saline acidity is upfront, giving energy and directness to the palate. A “serious wine” – quite detailed and structured. Savoury elements and subtle spices emerge – tarragon, oyster shell, dried lemon and oatmeal. Good persistence to the chalky, dry finish.
#9 Sacred Hill ‘Wine Thief’ 2023
Lovely broadness to the bold, bright perfume. Lemon, vanilla, peach, sourdough, baking spice and white pepper. Dry, quite prickly and savoury through the palate. A little fruit tannin, a nibble of oak, mealy texture and good length makes for a complex “modern style” Chardonnay. One to settle in with – and would certainly age well.
#10 Topsy Turvey 2021
The perfume has an intensity and generosity, with a heady blend of stonefruit and citrus, butterscotch, brioche, cardamom spice and honeysuckle florals. Power-packed, energetic and complex. An old-school, spicy oak (one judge wrote “The Oak!!”) suits the style, yet as much as it is opulent, the finish has a delicately pithy dryness.
Some real blockbusters there, and a few classics too. Of the “Best Value” wines that scored well but were just outside our Top 10 winning list – these are wines I’m happy to recommend, and won’t break the bank…
Sea Level ‘Home Block’ 2021 – has a slight reductivity on the nose but is a very well-balanced blend of spritely acid, gingery spice and plush fruit – from Nelson. Under the $25 mark.
Lake Chalice ‘The Raptor’ 2022 is the sibling wine to the Sauvignon Blanc that won the Top 10 Tasting of that varietal. A bold, in-your-face style, with great juice and bright acidity. Under the $25 mark.
Tohu Whenua Awa Chardonnay 2020 scored well, and is “a classy wine” that you should be able to source from the supermarket for around $30. Ripe, crisp and quite complex for the pricetag.
At around $35-$40 Helio, Sacred Hill ‘Wine Thief’ and Greywacke are well-priced wines that are in the Top 10, but the winner – Clearview Reserve – is a wine that many other judges at shows have voted ‘Champion Wine of Show’ and it is widely available for $45.
