With recent ‘best in line up’ type plaudits from reviewers, this Single Vineyard wine is now quite hard to find. An excellent 2019 vintage has had writers scrambling for superlatives as the New Zealand Chardonnays found their feet. I’ve always liked this wine – often choosing it as my favourite in the line-up of top Villa Maria Chardonnays. My magnum of 2010 will see the light one day.
Pale golden yellow, with green tinges in the glass. It has a whiff of smoky reductivity, but it blows off quickly and then you’re into a salvo of ripe peach, grilled grapefruit, white cherry, apple crumble and lemon blossom. The steely fresh acidity is lively and driving through layers of complexity – there’s plenty to see and do here! It seems to play on a style of ying and yang, contrasting flavours, texture and character. Dry, with a pithy, fruit tannin that’s balanced by the succulent fruit – plush and vivacious. Texturally lush and sumptuous but with a mineral intensity. Toasty oak gives spice and depth to contrast the sprightly, youthful bounce. Confounding, vivacious and totally captivating – the 2019 is as good as ever, and possibly as good as the good people say. A lot of good. 95pts.
Don’t wait too long on the 10 … very few NZ Chards age with grace
In the next year I reckon.