Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Made by Lynnette Hudson, formally of Pegasus Bay, this wine is vibrant yet delicate. It pulses with flavors of lemon oil, wildflowers and minerals. The palate is highly textural, crunching with acidity and crackling with minerality. There's oodles of lemony fruit and a saline finish in this long, elegant, ethereal and terroir-driven wine. Editors' Choice.
-
Wine Spectator
Complex and elegant, with pear, peach and yellow apple flavors that are sleek and satiny. Hints of hazelnut, spice and a touch of sea salt linger on the finish. Drink now through 2030.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced from growers in Waipara, the 2018 North Canterbury Chardonnay comes across as riper and more opulent than the 2019 version, with stone fruit, citrus and pencil shavings on the nose, a generous, medium-bodied feel on the palate and a silky-textured finish.
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.
On the central eastern coast of the South Island, Canterbury includes a collection of small and varied subregions. The region is cool and dry with low rainfall and light, infertile soils. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are well-suited here, with Pinot Gris coming in third place.