New Zealand is proving its credentials with chardonnay all the way from Kumeu in the north to Central Otago in the south, and here’s proof that the celebrated red wine turf of Hawke’s Bay is very much in the race. This barrel fermented style from the heart of limestone hill country delivery impressively soft and […]

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Auntsfield’s ancient soils of Marlborough’s southern valleys leave their stamp of consummately textured, stony mouthfeel that lingers long on the finish. Excellent acid drive and a determined persistence promise a strong future in the cellar. Right now it blossoms with lemon zest, white peach flesh and grapefruit perfume; its fruit presence refined and focused, understated […]

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Nelson’s characteristically cool, maritime climate is preserved accurately in the focused, taut, energetic lemon zest and white peach fruit of this refined chardonnay. Its lingering, stony texture speaks of the stony soils of the region, leaving oak (French and even some American) to settle comfortably into the background. $26 at Cellar d’Or.

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Enticingly poised, with silky white peach fruit flowing into grapefruit zest and fresh fig, finishing with the fine, stony mineral texture of Martinborough, drawn out long by a fine tail of soft, well-integrated acidity. A rounded finish makes for an attractive, earlier drinking style. $35 at Cracka and NZ Wine Online.

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“You’ve got to be very fussy,” is Michael Brajkovich’s mantra, as he explains his regime of assessing every new barrel each year to determine which to buy again next year. It’s an attention to detail that extends to everything here, as evidenced in the immense definition and structural focus of this wine. Tightly honed citrus […]

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This spicy and textural style relies equally on stony texture from the stony Gimblett Gravels as it does on acidity to build tension, structure and definition. Impressive grapefruit spice and lemon blossom sit over white peach and pear, carried through a long finish, accented with zesty acidity. $32 at Wine Style.

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For all the fame of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and its ever-rising success with pinot noir, chardonnay has been the quiet member of the family, never quite meeting the grade. Until now. There’s an understated confidence to this wine, a seamless inner harmony and a refined texture that unravels slowly through the palate. It’s elegant, […]

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New Zealand’s most celebrated chardonnay maker has just raised its own game. 2009 is the finest season yet at Kumeu River, and if there’s one wine you must not miss, it’s Hunting Hill. The Brajkovichs are slowly recognising the pedigree of this vineyard, always the first picked of the estate, and in future it will […]

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Coddington is Kumeu River’s richest, ripest source of chardonnay, producing a powerful wine of confident structure and intense fruit of honed lemon, grapefruit and peach, verging on apricot. Yet at every moment it maintains the house style of chiselled structure, excellent acid drive and impressive mouthfeel, layered with texture, lingering very long. $46 at Cellar […]

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An outstanding season for Ata Rangi’s premium chardonnay, a wine that builds slowly and evenly into a long, poised finish of mineral texture matched to the subtlety of its fruit, yet upholding a depth and confidence of its own. An enticing bouquet of white flower perfume, lemon juice and pristine white peach introduces an impeccably […]

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