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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This is a mesmerising vintage for Block 2, promising to rank among the longest lived yet. Monumental complexity of struck flint and bacon fat provides dimension to this energetically vivacious style, drawn out tight by a high-tensile wire of acidity, melding seamlessly with lemon zest, grapefruit, crunchy pear and almost ripe white peach fruit. The […]

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Never have I seen a set of New Zealand chardonnays more stunning than Kumeu River’s 2009s, and Mate’s leads the parade. As always, this is the last vineyard picked on the estate, yielding a wine of refined energy, coiled-up tension, profound texture and restrained finesse. A persistence of grand cru Burgundian proportions lingers long and […]

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Every time I look, the refinement of De Bortoli’s Yarra Valley operation has further infiltrated its Riverina headquarters. This brand new bargain basement chardonnay is a celebration of this philosophy, infused with the vibrant tang of cool 2011 vintage acidity. A zesty, refreshing style, singing with grapefruit, lemon zest and white peach. Best price direct.

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