Winemaker Notes
Chardonnay, Viognier & Marsanne blend that has a rich and textured palate. Tropical and citrus notes mixing with honey and white flower.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a mutt of a wine, and that's meant in the best possible sense. From New Zealand's Godfather of Biodynamics, James Millton, this Chardonnay-Viognier-Marsanne blend is a gold-hued cacophony of terroirs-driven goodness. The floral, honeyed, tropical and citrus notes sit beside something wilder and more herbal and mineral. The palate is rich and textured, but it's sliced through with crackling acidity, tangy fruit and a long, salty mineral finish. A wine that forces us to focus less on varietal and more on place.
Editors' Choice
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Occupying the North Island’s East Cape, Gisborne keeps The Bay of Plenty to its northwest and Hawkes Bay on its southwestern side. It is the country’s most distinctive producer of Chardonnay, with heavy investment here until Sauvignon blanc stole the country’s limelight. Gisborne produces soft and charming Chardonnay, boasting stone and tropical fruit flavors.
The region includes a good number of artisanal winemakers but many larger Auckland producers source from Gisborne for their own Chardonnay bottlings.