Winemaker Notes
This vintage sees the continuation of the "Maté's" style of Chardonnay, originating from this defined superior vineyard site exhibiting its own nuances and shades of aromas and flavor. The wine was produced in French oak barrels to the same exacting standards as for all of our Kumeu River wines, but the wood is subtle and never dominant. It is a very elegant, perfumed and restrained wine, with delicate yeast, distinct aromas of pears and citrus fruit. The mouth-filling texture and length of flavor mark it as a wine for long-term bottle maturation of four to six years.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Grape-growers in the local subregions of Clevedon, Matakana and Waiheke Island, focusing on vineyard techniques to maximize quality, are producing very fine Bordeaux Blends from local grapes. Auckland is also an industrial area where winemakers can produce quality wines based on sourced grapes from neighboring regions.