Here'a a glass of liquid sunshine in a fruity Chardonnay with a hint of oak adding depth to the revitalising fresh flavours of green apples, red apples and ripe grapefruit. This wine has a full body, dry flavours and crispness to burn, thanks to being made from Chardonnay vines grown on the coast at Te Awanga where the cool sea breezes retain freshness in the form of natural acidity in the grapes in this delicious wine. 

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.

This wine is great value for money from winemaker Simon Waghorn, who says Chardonnay is his first love in wine. He makes this creamy, dry and citrusy version from four different clones of Chardonnay, all grown on his family's home block vineyard. 

All grapes were hand picked, whole cluster pressed fermented with wild yeasts in barrel followed by lees aging in French oak with battonage (stirring of the lees). The result is a full bodied wine offering impressive depth and layers of stonefruit and citrusy flavours at a relatively modest price. 

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters. 

Charles Wiffen Chardonnay is a fruity, medium bodied dry white offering flavours of lemon, grapefruit and white peach, given depth by creamy richness and balanced acidity.

It's a top buy at this price and a super tasty wine for everyday enjoyment. 

This Blanc de Blancs is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes and is aged on lees for at least two years prior to disgorgement, which gives it a rich, full and creamy flavour combined with the freshness of aging wine on tirage (yeast lees following fermentation) in the bottle.

Number 1 Family Estate is owned by Daniel and Adele Le Brun who are the first to have made traditional method sparkling wine in New Zealand, bringing their experience in France to the early days of this country's modern wine industry. They celebrated 40 years of pioneering methode traditionelle in Marlborough in 2020. Le Brun comes from a long line French sparkling wine makers with family history in the Champagne region dating back to 1684. He has had a profound impact on the style and quality of New Zealand bubbles.

Maravedi is the name of an ancient Spanish coin and this wine is an excellent blend of Chardonnay and Airen (an indigenous Spanish white grape). The flavours are smooth and creamy with Chardonnay strutting its flavoursome, approachable taste in every mouthful. It is made from dry farmed, organically certified vineyards in the La Mancha region of Spain, south of Madrid, which is Spain's largest wine region.

One of the South Island's most powerful, full bodied, dry and rewardingly complex Chardonnays. The talented Pegasus Bay winemaking team produce this exceptional wine with its flavours of ripe citrus, honeydew melon and stone fruit (peach and nectarine). Notes of flintyness add complexity and a long finish. There are also some underlying savoury notes (toast and brioche) as a result of the secondary fermentation and lees contact in the barrel. The palate is concentrated, however, the earlier picking has resulted in a wine that remains elegant and focussed, with refreshing acidity and a lingering finish.

Chardonnay is king and queen at Bogle in California. It's the only varietal this winery makes so it invests enormously in ensuring the Chardonnays meet up with market demand for big, buttery, vanilla and cedar flavours in the wines. 

The Reserve Chardonnay from Bogle is the biggest, creamiest Chardonnay we have from this producer in store at Regional and it's made from ripe grapes, which have spent significant time in new American oak barrels to gain creamy richness as well as spicy, cedar notes to add depth.

If you're a big buttery Chardonnay fan, come and get it.

Winemaker Rebecca Salmond does a super job producing this dry, full bodied, boldly flavoursome Gisborne Chardonnay each year. 

If you're after a big, creamy style, this will tick all the right boxes and delivers peachy stonefruit characters too. A tasty wine for drinking in a large glass, lightly chilled.

Savoury and complex Chardonnay from one of Waiheke Island's best wineries. Powerful and rich, yet tempered by high acidity and aromatic notes. The focused palate is defined by ripe fruit flavours and integrated oaky tannin. This is a wine made to age gracefully but is still excellent in its youth. 

A creamy, full bodied, deliciously complex bubbly made from a blend of two of the classic grapes used to make Champagne - Pinot Noir makes up 58% of this wine and the grapes were lightly pressed so that no colour is extracted from the Pinnacles Vineyard and 42% Chardonnay from the Om Santi Vineyard, fermented to 12.5% ABV. 

This big, creamy, full bodied sparkling wine made in the traditional method - the same way as champagne. The Chardonnay went through malolactic fermentation, which adds  the creamy notes. It was aged for two years on lees in bottle and given six grams of dosage at disgorgement, which makes this wine dry, fresh and long on taste thanks to the cool climate acidity which adds length and zesty drive. 

This is a great example of Chardonnay without the influence of oak. It remains smooth and full bodied with balance from crisp, fresh, food friendly acidity adding great depth and appeal to the refreshing flavours of green apple note on the nose and palate.

* Chablis is the northernmost wine region in Burgundy, which produces only Chardonnay. The cooler climate gives these wines crispness, acidity and a flintyje ne sais quo. 

Drinks beautifully with great seafood dishes and roast tender chicken. 

Dog Point Vineyards Chardonnay is one of Marlborough's great dry, full bodied, creamy whites made by Ivan Sutherland and James Healy, who are two of the most talented winemakers in the country. 

Their vineyards are 100% certified organic and their winemaking is second to none. Barrel fermentation, creamy, nutty flavours are complimented with a freshness that sees these wines last for the long haul.

This drinks well now and can age for up to a decade. A delicious taste sensation and a keeper. Win win.

Black Barn's most awarded wine. With aromas of stone fruit and citrus, layered with toast and spice from 100% barrel fermentation and extended barrel ageing.

Chardonnay that straddles both styles of creamy flavours with crisp fresh appeal. It's dry, medium bodied and refreshing; a great match for roast chicken or any chicken dish and a delicious example of Chardonnay from Marlborough.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery.

Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

Te Mata Tasting Note

Sparkling with a pale white-gold hue, Elston ’24 immediately reveals its richness on the nose. Aromas of crème brûlée, toasted sourdough, and vanilla intertwine with vibrant notes of grapefruit and ripe yellow nectarine. Subtle layers of oyster shell, hazelnut, and flintiness add further complexity and intrigue.

On the palate, it delivers a commanding presence – rich and textured yet finely balanced by a spine of electric acidity building delicious tension. The vivacious fruit sweetness combines elegantly with an energetic drive, creating a wine of remarkable elegance and fantastic length. The 2024 vintage captures Elston in its ultimate form.

Elston takes its name from the ancestral home of Charles Darwin, Elston Hall in Nottinghamshire, the UK, and tastes dry with ripe stone fruit flavours of peach and nectarines, balanced by a citrusy, creamy and lingering finish. 

A great wine to enjoy now and to keep.