Church Road is no stranger to success with Chardonnay, its track record of multi gold medals and trophies for the Reserve Chardonnay over the past several vintages the envy of many other producers. It is one of this country’s top Chardonnays and one of the most popular with wine lovers, its rich and generous style being quite hedonistic. The 2006 ‘Tom’ Chardonnay came from the recognition of some outstanding parcels of fruit from the warmer inland Korokipo and Omaranui vineyards, identified by winemaker Chris Scott and his team, as being worthy of special management. Employing similar, but stricter vinification techniques as with the Church Road Reserve Chardonnay of hand harvesting, whole bunch pressing, the selection of only the first portion of free-run juice and indigenous yeasts, the wine was fermented and aged 14 months in 40% new French barriques resulting in a wine at 14.5% alc. Only 170 cases were produced. Light straw yellow in colour, with golden hues, the wine is tight and brooding on the nose with intense mealy, nutty fruit and savoury-spicy oak lift. It is a wine of real power, filling the mouth with rich and complex, citrus and mealy flavours, balanced by excellent acidity providing a tension and liveliness. Raymond rated the wine at 19.5-/20. It should cellar well over the next 5-7 years.

The 2006 ‘Tom’ Chardonnay was launched at the end of October, at a special luncheon at the Boulcott Street Bistro in Wellington with a menu designed by Rex Morgan. A number of other wines were also served to provide perspectives on Chardonnay, and this open exercise allowed a good assessment of the ‘Tom’ Chardonnay. The Church Road Reserve Chardonnay 2007 (19.0-/20) was rich and weighty with plenty of nectarine and stonefruit flavours, and fresh, minerally acidity, but broader and more accessible. A beautifully rich mouthful, continuing the style of recent vintages of this wine. A Paul Jacqueson Rully 1er Cru ‘Gresigny’ 2007 (17.5+/20) was a very modern and top example of Macon with its soft white stonefruit and nutty notes and clean, up-front, satisfying palate. The Champion Wine of the Show at the 2007 Liquorland ‘Top 100’, the Oakridge Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2006 (19.0-/20), was youthfully pale, with concentrated nutty aromas and flavours from the refined, cool fruit and complexing sulphides in the new ‘avante garde’ style so fashionable with winemakers currently. A consumer user-friendly Montana ‘Ormond’ Gisborne Chardonnay 2006 (18.5/20) was superbly integrated and harmonious, with lovely tropical fruits and a soft, creamy textured palate. Very Gisborne with its generosity and richness. Also shown was the Kumeu River ‘Matés’ Chardonnay 2007 (18.0+/20), with its classical white Burgundian nose of nuts, mealy fruit, and lees. On palate, attractively elegant and refined, but not quite the concentration at this stage. This is a wine that consistently puts on weight with bottle age. A Chanson Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru ‘Champs Gain’ 2005 (18.5-/20) was a valid comparison at this level. Very refined, youthful, backward even, this had classic, intense mealy, nutty and stonefruit aromas and flavours. Quite soft, supple and with an elegance, showing the provenance of the vineyard site.

As a finale, served with the cheese course was the as yet unreleased ‘Tom’ 2005 (19.0+/20), a wine with a cepage of 66% Merlot and 34% Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark, almost impenetrable black red, this was packed full of lush, fully ripened black berry and plum fruits, lifted with perfectly judged oak. Superbly balanced by the extraction, this finished long and dry, with flavours of liquorice, herbs, plums, chocolate and toast. Its release will be well worth waiting for.