The first release of this special cuvee is from an exceptional Chardonnay parcel in the renowned Howell Family Vineyard.

Hints of orange peel and candied lime, flirt with cedar and toasted almond on the nose. On the palate the wine shows great power and presence on the attack, with a rich silky textured mid palate supported by a zesty acid finish, providing length , vitality and balance.

This wine will age extremely well over the next five-six years.

860 bottles made.

Ripe citrus aromas of navel orange and peach, a medley of nougat and vanilla notes to add to the complexity and interest on the nose. A silky attack with sweet fruit flavours of peach and navel orange in the rich textural mid palate and with hints of nougat and vanilla balanced with fine oak and lingering citrus finish. - Paritua ALCOHOL: 13.5%

The Crater Rim Waipara Valley Chardonnay is a youthful, estate-grown wine, hand-picked and fermented and lees-aged for 11 months in French oak barriques (partly new). This wine is a bright, light yellow-green, with a fragrant, citrusy bouquet. The palate is mouth-filling, with good intensity of grapefruit-like flavours, slightly buttery and toasty.

Winemaking at Felton Road is led by one of Central Otago's most experienced winemakers, Blair Walter, who has been at Felton Road since the mid 1990s. His meticulous attention to detail and unwavering focus on the great classic Chardonnays of the world are as key to this wine's outstanding quality as the focus on great quality in the vineyard and winery. 

From the Producer

"Gentle lemon appearance with a prominent enticing nose. Aromas of citrus, melon, tropical fruit and sweet nuts. A refined palate with a pleasant citrusy acidity, creamy mouth coating textures and a remarkably long finish. Shisty minerality, flavours and textures reflect the soils of our Bendigo vineyard. A delightful wine after a hot day in the sun or a cold day on the mountain. Drinking well now till 2033."

Food pairings:Mediterranean cheese and olive platter, hot smoked salmon with new potatoes, chilled cucumber soup. 

Expert Review - This Bendigo Chardonnay shows delicate floral with balanced fruit, layering over a lightly creamy mouthfeel and silky phenolics, enticing acidity ripples through the palate and lends a savoury, mineral finish. 94pts, Candice Chow  

Felton Road winemaker Blair Walter and owner Nigel Greening (who bought the winery in 2000) are a formidable team producing elegant, powerful southern Pinots from their estate vineyards, all now organically and biodynamically certified. 

Concentrated aromas of spice, toasted cedar and savoury notes with a hint of vanilla.

Generous and rich, luxurious mouthfeel. The palate has a complex array of flavours with savoury notes, ripe peach, preserved lemon and a toasty finish. 

Drinking beautifully now, this wine will continue to evolve and reward over the next five to ten years with careful cellaring.

Alcohol 13% v/v

Residual sugar 2.36g/litre 

Acidity 5.8g/litre

pH 3.11

Established in 1864 by Jean Désiré Féraud, Monte Christo is the birthplace of Central Otago wine. Our wines are made with 100% estate-grown fruit sourced from our vineyards across three distinct sub-regions, the Alexandra Basin, Bannockburn and Pisa. Utilising sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention methods in the winery, the outcome is elegant, refined, and impeccably balanced wines epitomising the terroir of Central Otago.

Tasting note An elegant yet complex Chardonnay with fresh lemon, green pear, white peach, hawthorn flowers, river rock and subtle baking spices.

VINEYARDS Vineyard: Davishon (69%) 

Subregion: Alexandra Basin 

Elevation: 160m 

Clone(s): 6, Mystery clone 

Soil: Blackmans alluvial sand, silt and gravels derived from schist and sandstone

WINEMAKING 

Brix: 21.6 

Fermentation: Wild yeasts in 72%  neutral oak and 28% stainless steel, 100% malolactic  

Aging: 11 months in 72% neutral French oak, 28% stainless steel 

Combining lovely fruitiness with an attractive freshness and characteristic minerality, Chablis is a wine region with global renown. Domaine William Fèvre’s vineyards sit on Kimmeridgian subsoil and enjoy ideal exposures for the production of a very fine wine.

The nose reveals a fleshy and elegant bouquet with citrus, white fruit and floral aromas. The palate is fresh and supple, underscored by stony minerality.

Domaine William Fevre has led the Chablis revival over the past decade with its refined, full bodied, dry white wines, all 100% Chardonnay, of course, as this appellation is devoted entirely and solely to this great white grape variety.

Ozu Chardonnay (D.O. Navarra) is 100% Chardonnay and spends three months on its lees prior to bottling. No oak is used and the wine is clean, bright and mineral with a floral and citrus nose.

Pairs well with seafood, grilled and baked fish, white meats, light pasta dishes and sheep's cheeses.

Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"Ever since 1998, Cyril Testut has run the family Domaine started by his father Philippe in 1967. The family's vineyard holdings cover 13 ha of the Chablis AOC, where the Kimmeridgian clay and limestone unique to the region cultivate Chardonnay renowned for their distinctive salinity and minerality drawn from deep in the soil.

100% Chardonnay, from average age 50 year old vines over 9.5 ha in front of Grand Cru Blanchots and on the side of Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre. Hand-harvested from late September to early October. Vinified and aged in tank for up to 16 months, before bottling at the Testut Estate

Fabulous Chardonnay from Karl Johner's vineyard at Gladstone in the central Wairarapa, a cool climate which accentuates the crisp fresh acidity that balances the full bodied, creamy nuances in this lovely wine. 

Great value for money and a wine that combines creamy flavours with freshness.

TASTING NOTE

The Marlborist Chardonnay is a rich, dry elegant wine that is both intricate and textural with an enticing combination of roasted hazelnuts, brioche, citrus blossom and golden-queen peach with hints of clove spice and vanilla. This is a finely balanced wine with a creamy palate underpinned by a long, citrus finish. 

VITICULTURE

Fruit was sourced from two exceptional vineyards; The Wrekin in the Brancott Valley, a beautiful biodynamic and organic-certified hillside vineyard where clone 95 chardonnay is grown on clay loam soils and Cable Bay Vineyard in the lower Awatere Valley, where high density old Mendoza clone vines are grown on a stony, alluvial terrace. The combination of free-draining soils and naturally low yields allowed the vines to ripen small, golden bunches of intensely flavoured fruit. 

WINEMAKING

Picking commenced on March 27th at the Wrekin and finished on April 6th at Cable Bay, from where the fruit was transported directly to the winery where the grapes were gently whole-bunch pressed to a mixture of French oak barrels and puncheons (15% new). A portion was chilled overnight before pressing to oak the next morning. Spontaneous fermentation by indigenous, ‘wild’ yeast, took place at ambient temperatures, a process that took several months to complete. Occasional lees stirring and a full malolactic fermentation occurred before the wine was transferred out of oak after 15 months. Each batch was left on lees and kept separate until June when the blend was assembled and settled prior to bottling in July.

Nga Waka was established in Martinborough in 1988 and is a family-owned winegrower producing small volumes of fine Martinborough wine from estate-grown grapes.

The Home Block Chardonnay is Nga Waka's flagship white wine. It is 100% barrel fermented and goes through 100% malolactic fermentation, remaining in barrel for 12 months with lees stirring monthly.

The wine is a pale gold colour and is rich and complex with deep, intense spicy and mineral flavours underpinned by tight-grained French oak, barrel fermentation and the malolactic component.

Bold, powerful, creamy Chardonnay with bright deep citrusy flavours. This wine is made 100% from the Om Santi Vineyard in Martinborough, which is in conversion to organic certification with BioGro NZ.

All grapes are handpicked, whole bunch pressed with a portion to oak barrels and a portion to stainless steel tanks. The tank portion is cold settled over night and then racked to French oak where fermentation is with vineyard yeasts and the occasional stirring to add texture and complexity to the wine. 

The wine gains weight, smoothness, spicy notes and texture from 12 months in oak. It is bottled unfiltered to provide a close reflection of site and season.