The Big, the Bold and the Beautiful

My younger brother is a chef and, being passionate about food, has always been very hands on when it comes to his craft. He always maintains that the passion and love for what you are creating comes through in the end product: “you can taste the love.” It is that same passion that comes through from the winemakers. The love for their craft comes through in the products they create.

Chardonnays were hugely popular back in the 80s, however, corporate pressure to produce large volumes meant a lot of passion was lost and we ended up with an oversupply of very average Chardonnay. This, coupled with the meteoric rise in popularity of Sauvignon Blanc, meant Chardonnays have been taking a back seat… until now. With a renewed focus on quality, we are seeing some fantastic chardonnays coming into the market and they are gaining in popularity once again. Here are few of our picks to suit every budget…

Peter Yealands Reserve Chardonnay 2016 (Hawke’s Bay)

This wine comes from New Zealand’s most sustainable winery, so you can feel even better when you drink it, knowing you are doing your part for the environment!
While Yealands are well known for their outstanding Pinots and Sauvignon Blancs from their Marlborough vineyard, they have also turned their winemaking skills to producing some outstanding wines from the Hawke’s Bay region, including this lovely Chardonnay. Crafting award-winning wines in harmony with nature has been achieved without compromise. The quality of unique wines coming from this winery is testament to their passion for quality.

Sourced from various vineyards around Hawke’s Bay, the winemakers at Yealands have produced Peter Yealands Reserve Chardonnay 2016. This Chardonnay exhibits tasty savoury characters that are nicely balanced by tropical fruit flavours, with white peaches, citrus and toasty oak on the palate, followed by a long and elegant finish. The perfect accompaniment for scallops or crayfish.

RRP $18.95

Sacred Hill Reserve 2016 Chardonnay (Hawke’s Bay)

Established back in the 1980s when winemaking in the region was only just starting to flourish, Sacred Hill winery is one of the few large wineries in Hawke’s Bay to still remain fully independent.
An early summer and blistering February temperatures meant the fruit had a long ripening time, producing really rich and intense flavours in this classic Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay.
The wine has a gorgeous nutty aroma with beautiful oaky notes coming through on the palate. Intense vanilla and stone fruit is balanced by a light acidity and citrus, with a finish of vanilla and lemon meringue that lingers on the palate. This is a wine you can enjoy on its own or it would complement a light meal of chicken or fish.

RRP $24.95

Waipara Hills Equinox 2015 Chardonnay (Waipara Valley)

Waipara Hills winery calls this the ‘Equinox’ because of the significance of the equinox in winemaking. The spring equinox is when the buds start to burst, while the autumn equinox is when the fruit is ready to harvest.

The Waipara Valley is well known for producing some of New Zealand’s best aromatic wines, and in addition, the loamy soil and cool dry climate, with long growing seasons, make for some outstanding Chardonnays.

Produced from small crops, the grapes for this Waipara Hills Equinox Chardonnay were handpicked from their Home Block vineyard in the Valley. The warm, dry summer of 2015 has delivered a delicious and refreshing Chardonnay with intense fruit flavours.

The colour of pale straw with aromas of smoky oak, this wine leaves luscious, ripe white peach and brioche on the palate. The light nutty finish lingers nicely on the tongue – powerful and weighty yet retaining a fresh acidity, making this the perfect accompaniment for tuna or salmon.

RRP $34.90

Bespoke Chardonnay (by Mills Reef) 2016 (Hawke’s Bay)

Mills Reef, the most awarded boutique winery in New Zealand, recently launched the new ‘Bespoke’ range, perfectly positioned – within their premium line-up – between their Elspeth and the Reserve ranges, which have long been favourites of M2.

This range allowed the winemakers to innovate and experiment in different ways to deliver a more ’bespoke’ product in small parcel lots. It could be introducing more oak or in different blends or unusual grape varieties, but the outcome is the production of some unique offerings that will perfectly complement their premium ranges.

This Chardonnay, the 2016 Bespoke, is particularly nostalgic in nature, bringing back memories of some of the big bold Chardonnays of the 80s. Twenty years ago, these Chardonnays were hugely popular, but over recent years, the rise in popularity of Sauvignon Blanc saw a lot of winemakers moving away from these big bold Chardonnays as they trended towards greater minerality and preferring stainless steel to oak barrels. But be it fashion or nostalgia, we are seeing a gravitation towards the big oaky style Chardonnay again as the variety goes through a revival.

This is a luxurious Chardonnay that pays tribute to the nostalgia: sumptuous and intense, unctuous yet beautifully balanced, with generous flavours of delicious toasty oak, white peach and creamy butterscotch. This a wine that is ahead of its time and ‘on trend’ – like double denim.

RRP $34.94

Trinity Hill 2016 Chardonnay (Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay)

One of the early pioneers of wine produced from the Gimblett Gravels region, Trinity Hill, also has a reputation for innovation and for producing outstanding wines, not only from the traditional Hawke’s Bay grape varieties like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot, but also less familiar varietals like Viognier, Tempranillo, Arneis and Montepulciano. In this issue we meet Warren Gibson, the chief winemaker at Trinity Hill, and find out more about what goes into making these outstanding wines.

With 2016 being an exceptionally warm season in Hawke’s Bay, with the dry weather lasting well into autumn, we have been seeing some stunning Chardonnays being produced. While having well-established vines is a major advantage, the favourable 2016 vintage has also produced another hallmark Chardonnay for Trinity Hill. This is a beautifully balanced wine with elegant oak delivering light roasted nut flavours. This is an stunning Chardonnay made from grapes grown in the Gimblett Gravel region by a winery we adore here at M2.

Refined flavours of citrus, melon and white grapefruit come through with a lingering finish of lightly roasted cashews and almond. A wine to savour and enjoy with fresh fish – perfect for a nice summer lunch or to drink on its own.

RRP $35.00

Nautilus Estate 2016 Chardonnay (Marlborough)

Well before Marlborough gained its reputation for producing outstanding Sauvignon Blancs, it was producing outstanding Chardonnays. The rise in popularity of Sauvignon Blanc meant most of the Chardonnay vines were uprooted and very few producers in the area still produce Chardonnay in any volume. It is exciting to see Nautilus Estate, one of the premium winemakers from the region, focusing their efforts on Chardonnay, introducing new Burgundian clones to the blend to deliver a Chardonnay that is on par with a crisp and refreshing Chablis for the Grand Crus of France.

Straw in colour, the 2016 Nautilus Chardonnay has an inviting aroma of citrus combined with toasted nuts and even popcorn. Crisp minerality comes through on the palate, well integrated with good depth of flavour and a refreshing long finish. This dish would go perfectly with fresh oysters or any seafood dish.

RRP $36.95

Matawhero, Irwin 2016 Chardonnay (Gisborne)

This is the launch of Matawhero winery’s flagship wine, a tribute to the founders of Matawhero wines and one of the pioneers of the modern winemaking industry of today. The ’Irwin’ refers to the late Bill Irwin and his son Denis, the founders of Matawhero. Bill was responsible for importing virus-free Chardonnay rootstock to supply growers across New Zealand right back in the 1960s.

With son Denis, they achieved multiple awards for their Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay wines in international competitions when nobody else was. Denis reflects: “there was almost a superstar element to it as we were entertaining prime ministers and international wine critics”, but behind the scenes it was a lot of hard work from the father and son team.

The Irwin has been produced from an exceptional vintage that delivered superior ripeness and is made from 100 percent Mendoza Chardonnay grapes from the famous Tietjen vineyard on the Golden Slopes in Gisborne – a site that has been delivering award winning wines for over 20 years.

This flagship Chardonnay expresses a medley of peach and melon flavours, overlaid with toasty oak. A rich, ripe style with finely integrated oak and a taut but harmonious acidity on the finish. Perfect with seafood, scallops and crayfish.

RRP $59.95

Vidal ’1888’ Chardonnay 2014 (Hawke’s Bay)

Anthony Joseph Vidal, the founder of Vidal Estate, emigrated to New Zealand from Spain in 1888 at the age of 14. He first settled in Wanganui with his family and it wasn’t until 1905 that he established Vidal Estate. It is a tribute to him that Vidal has produced this outstanding wine, which is the flagship of the Vidal range and is considered the Grand Cru of the Vidal legacy range by winemaker Hugh Crichton. Painstaking efforts have gone into selecting the finest parcels of grapes for a wine that will only be produced in exceptional vintages, resulting in a wine with exquisite concentration of flavour, complexity and balance.

This Chardonnay is intensely aromatic with a lovely bouquet of citrus blossom and fresh baked bread. It is powerful on the palate, with grapefruit, citrus, ripe stone fruits with hints of toasted nuts. A complex and persistent palate that lingers on the tongue with clear-cut acidity and balance. If you were to match this with food, I would choose something opulent – it would have to be crayfish (or lobster) and even caviar. This is an outstanding wine that is an absolute must to try. It is very rare to find a Chardonnay of this standard in New Zealand.

RRP $120.00