Looking through the reviews on WineFolio, it comes as no surprise that my favourite wine varietal is a white grape – Chardonnay. When I lived in Europe, it wasn’t always my first love (preferring the bordeaux varieties as wine of choice) but in the nearly-two-decades that I’ve chosen to take up residence in New Zealand, it has gradually trumped all-comers. It helps that wines of the standard of Kumeu River, Giaconda, Neudorf, Leeuwin Estate, Sacred Hill Rifleman’s and Clearview Estate – to name just a few are so freely available here – and compared to the price of top white burgundy!
I’m not surprised either at the success that the last of those labels – Clearview Estate – has had with their selection of Chardonnays. The Reserve and Beachhead have both been named Champion Wine of Show in recent years (at NZIWS), and a recent tasting put on by a generous acquaintance showed just how well those wines develop and last. An opportunity this week then to taste through both of those recent Champions in their 2022 vintages…
Clearview Estate Beachhead Chardonnay 2022 shows a heady aroma of apricot, nectarine, nutmeg, citrus and cardamom, with a toasty seasoning of oak quite apparent, with vanilla and hazelnut. Vigorous and youthful, saturating the palate with that citrus and stonefruit. It also shows a peppery, lees-influenced phenolic bite and a saline acidity – lifting the ripe fruit flavours and offering plenty of drive. The finish is mixed – a bit short, but has a lovely sweetening, confectionary note that is quite more-ish. 92pts
Seeing around 40% new oak, the Clearview Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2022 is certainly not shy as you approach it. Big, unctuous and generous on the nose. Spice, cashew, vanilla, white peach, oatmeal, lime curd and butterscotch come barrelling out of the glass. The acidity is bright, crisp and plenty of youthful bounce. The oak frames that boisterous fruit, enriching the mid-palate, and setting up a viscous, creamy texture towards the finish. There is a lovely drying element to the finish, and this one is lingering, with excellent persistence of flavour. 95pts
