From Waiheke Island, this new chardonnay is all about moving on, and up, from their iconic Valhalla. Tasted alongside a couple of French white burgundies, this sits well alongside those classic, traditional editions.
Intensity on the nose – orange zest, juniper, quince and loquat. Full-bodied, with weight, density and concentration, but wears it well – with a tension and clarity.
Pear, hay, pink grapefruit and a distinctive apricot fruit note, with a chalky minerality. This wine has a moulded structure – a lovely pithy, tannic undertow, and a beeswax viscosity to the texture and mouthfeel. It’s 100% new oak, but so integrated that only a touch of blanched almond hints at a woodiness. A precise acidity that drives the wine through to an everlasting finish tinged with caramel but also a lacey, drying conclusion.
97pts. One of our great chardonnays – superb.
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