100% Amphora fermented - an exploration and celebration of our Moutere Clays.
A wine of tension and texture that celebrates both power & grace.
However, this wine is in no way, tense. It is serene, meditative, contemplative and confident.
The palate is lifted by a savoury lick of salt-block minerality and a whisper of summer citrus.
Unshackled from tradition, the result is a contemporary, delicious wine for the chardonnay obsessed or averse.
A complex and captivating nod to the old world.

Site: 

Rosie’s Block - Upper Moutere, Nelson
Aspect: 90m Elveation, North West Facing
Soil Type: Moutere Clay Gravels
Soil Composition: Deep sand loam, with clay content (19%). Little stone content.
Vineyard Established: 1999
Farming: Dry Farmed, Organic (Biogro: #5438)
Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Clonal Selection: 548, Mendoza
Hand Harvested: 100%
Seasonal Detail: The 2023-2024 growing season was splendid, marked by a welcome return to an El Nino weather patter, and more stable weather conditions without dramatic temperature or rainfall extremes.
Summer months were dry and warm, but followed by an "autumnal" finish to the season. A superb season producing wines with fruit intensity and poise.

Winemaking:

Harvest: 15th - 21st March 2024

Processing: 100% whole bunch press. 48 hour settling.

Fermentation: 100% Wild Yeast, High solid fermentation

Fermentation Vessel: 100% Clay Amphora

Maturation: 10 months on gross lees with minimal battonage, followed by 2 months on fine lees, in a stainless steel tank.

Malolactic: 100% natural spring malo

Fining: None Filtration: Coarse Vegan: Yes

Bottling Analysis: 13.5% Alc, 3.25 pH, 6.4 g/L TA, Dry

Full Bottle Weight: 1,165 g

An assemblage of different parcels on marl and limestone soils in Gevingey, 35yo vines on average, facing west. Vinified and aged in foudres with no bâtonnage, the wine was bottled in July the following year. This is a zippy and lean style of chardonnay that is always great. 

Notes on the producer

Natives of the Jura, both Pauline and Géraud’s families owned tiny plots (used to make wine for home consumption) and spending time in the vines in their childhood was enough to give them the wine bug. They met while studying winemaking in Dijon and created Domaine des Marnes Blanches when they returned to the Jura in 2006. They farmed organically from the word go and have added (some planted) parcels along the way to reach a total of 12ha today, spread across three towns in the Sud-Revermont (south of the Côtes-du-Jura AC).

They recently built a new winery off the main road in Ste-Agnès which gives them plenty of space and allows them to vinify and age every parcel separately. Wild yeast fermentation is the norm, wines are fermented in stainless steel and then aged in minimum 5yo 228 to 600ltr barrels. Sulphur is used sparsely for the whites (around 20mg/l total) or not at all for the reds.

Sliced apples, pears, lemon rind and honeysuckle come through the nose and palate. Medium to full bodied with a creamy and crunchy finish. Itense acidity and minerality like a solid Chablis.

Beautiful big styled Chardonnay with all the bells of whistles. Flavours of ripe citrus, spicy oak and nutty aromas all add complexity to this full bodied Chardonnay, which was aged in French oak to add weight and soften the succulent citrusy acidity in this lingering, flavoursome wine. 

Hawke’s Bay winemakers Tim Turvey (founder of Clearview Estate) and Matt Kirby consistently make this reserve Chardonnay in a rich, full flavoured style with creamy, buttery flavours to the fore and a full body adding to its crowd pleasing appeal. If you’re among the majority of Chardonnistas who love big buttery styles, look no further than this tasty drop from the long established Clearview on the coast at Te Awanga.

About Clearview Estate

Clearview Estate is one of oldest, most well established wineries in Hawke's Bay and is situated on the Te Awanga Coast, south of Napier. It's a great place to visit for tastings at the cellar door as well as lunch in the dappled shade of the established courtyard area. The winery was founded by Tim Turvey, winemaker and co-owner. The current winemaker is the multi talented Matt Kirby.

CHARDONNAY BARREL-AGED

IMPERIAL PILSNER 7.4%

Aged in chardonnay barrels to bring out the white wine, gooseberry, citrus and passionfruit aromatics from the Nelson Sauvin, Hallertau Blanc and Riwaka hops. Finishing dry from the addition of Champagne yeast.

'Our CHABLIS come from parcels situated beside the village of FONTENAY-Près-CHABLIS, at the very heart of Chablis’ vineyards. On high plains or steep hills, all our Chablis grow on stony soils (Kimmeridgien Limestone) which allow a moderate production. Most of our vineyards are between 15 and 25 years old. Some parcels were planted by Gilles’ great grandfather, Marcel, around 1950/1960. Our Chablis are fresh and fruity (white flesh fruits, like peach and pear, with citrus notes), and already showing good minerality.''Grape 100% Chardonnay Food match oysters, shell fish and grilled fish, but also with traditional Burgundy recipes such as “jambom persillé” (ham with parsley)

100% ovum, first use. Skeetfield fruit, unfined and unfiltered. Beautiful nose with subtly mealy citrus fruit. The palate has beautiful texture and finesse. There’s a bright, lively citrus core with fine-grained structure. Such precision and detail with some spicy, mealy richness. There’s amazing intensity and balance here. There are layers of flavour, with lemons, saline notes, and some grapefruit notes. This is profound. Tony Bish says egg Chardonnays don’t need to age as long before release, and may not live as long as barrique aged ones, but can deliver profundity.

2024 Impression White

PURE, FRESH & TEXTURAL BARREL AGED CHARDONNAY

Bright, light yellow/green, it is mouthfilling and vibrant with hints of stonefruit and citrus. Creamy and textural with a refreshing dry mineral finish. Approachable and delicious.

Vintage
2024 was a classic Hawke’s Bay Vintage ideal for Chardonnay.  Warm days, cool nights, resulting in wines with naturally high acidity and intense citrus and stonefruit notes. Exceptionally low yields means exceptional quality and beautiful age worthy wines.

Vineyards
Kokako, Ohiti Valley and Ascot, Havelock North

Winemaking
90% Kokako Vineyard, Ohiti Valley 10%  Ascot Vineyard, Havelock North.  No SO2. Pressed to tank for cold settling overnight. Racked clean to barrel. Natural fermentation and malo-lactic fermentation to completion. Aged in matured French oak barrels on lees for 9 months.  Final Blend, barrel selection to taste.

pH 3.56 TA 7.0 g/L Alc 13.0 %v/v

Reviews
Sam Kim – Wine Orbit – 95/100

Complex and stylish, the wine shows mango, lemon peel, vanilla and cedar characters on the nose with a hint of sweet pastry. The palate is equally impressive with excellent concentration, splendidly complemented by creamy texture and beautifully infused acidity. Refined and sophisticated with richness as well as poise, finishing persistent and expansive. At its best: now to 2029.”

TASTING NOTE From grapes grown on naturally low-yielding, old vines, this wine is vibrant and complex. Grapefruit, peach and earthy clay pot aromas complement a fresh and focused palate. Fine phenolic texture and mineral acidity add depth and length respectively.  The salinity from the ocean, oak influence, together with juicy tree fruit notes from the grapes, round out what is truly a charming wine. 

VINEYARDS & VITICULTURE Our Waiheke Vineyard is accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing NZ and is entirely owned and managed by Cable Bay Vineyards to ensure we produce the best quality fruit possible. We practice regenerative viticulture. The site is located on the sun-drenched, western side of the island, on steep slopes overlooked by Rangitoto volcano. We have predominantly mineralised clay volcanic soils over Jurassic era rock. This type of geology and soil provides wines with great mid-palate weight and minerality. This wine is a blend of Chardonnay clones 15, 95, 6 and 548. 

WINEMAKING The ripe fruit was hand-harvested early in the morning whilst the grapes were nice and cool, transported across the road to the winery, and immediately whole bunch pressed. It was settled and racked taking light lees, leaving textural Chardonnay juice to enter wild yeast fermentation. We allowed partial malolactic fermentation on this wine, to both develop mouthfeel while preserving the natural acidity of our warmer sub-tropical climate. Following barrel ferment, the wine aged in second use oak puncheons and barriques on full lees for 12 months before assemblage, and then a further 3 months integrating together as a blend in tank, before bottling.

In the vineyard :
Surface: 1,57 Ha

Exposure: Lower slopes/Multiple exposures

Soil Type: Clay/Limestone

Grape variety: Chardonnay

Size Mode: Single Guyot /Poussard

Growing method: FR-BIO-01 organic certified

Soil cultivation: Straddle ploughing

Harvest: Manual

Year of planting: 1960/1976/1982/1986/2012

WINE MAKING

Fruit was sourced from three sites in the Wairau Valley.  60% of Clones 95 and 40% of Mendoza were used.  No sulphur was added to the juices at the point of extraction which then were fermented spontaneously in a combination of seasoned French oak (90%) and stainless steel (10%).  

TASTE

Aromatics of ripe yellow citrus, nectarine and brioche.  A finely textured palate with an array of flavours from Meyer lemon to stone fruits with a lively acid to savour.

FOOD MATCH

All kinds of soft cheeses, white meats and rich seafood such as koura (crayfish) and smoked warehou.  

ACID: 6.5 g/l
pH: 3.48
ALC: 13.0%