Nga Waka Chardonnay is one of the biggest selling wines at this Martinborough winery cellar door, thanks to its creamy smooth body, balanced by freshness and vibrant citrus flavour notes. 

This wine offers stunning value for money, delivering a full body, bone dry flavours and a long, refreshing finish, thanks to the bright balanced acidity provided from the cool nights in the Martinborough region.

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.

Akitu A2 Pinot Noir is an approachable and complex Pinot Noir made from three different Pinot clones which receive 35% whole bunch fermentation and a modest 7% new French oak in the maturation process. This makes for a smooth but subtle softness in a lush Pinot, which Akitu owner Andrew Donaldson suggests matching with Peking duck pancakes. Hear hear. Any duck would flatter this wine’s lush flavours, for that matter. Volumes: 1096 cases were produced and the wine was bottled on 19 March 2020.

The home of Akitu 

Andrew Donaldson planted his vineyard with 100% Pinot Noir in 2002 and has since developed three distinctive styles of wine from this great red grape variety. Two reds (Akitu A 1 and Akitu A2) lead the production while a Pinot Blanc is now part of the high quality stable of wines from this producer. 

Donaldson employs winemaker P J Charteris to make the wines. 

At Mt Barker, in New Zealand's South Island, in a high glacial valley of sunshine and rain shadow on the edge of the earth, each season leave its own vivid imprint on our vintage.  Extreme temperature variations, alpine air, altitude, adversity... all the wild elements of this exhilarating land combine in a Pinot Noir of great quality from the world's southernmost wine region.

Mount Beautiful by name and by nature, this full bodied, peachy South Island Chardonnay is beautifully balanced by freshness and acidity of flavours of red apple, stone fruits and nectarines, leading to a creamy, textured palate that is medium bodied. Flavours include layers of buttered brioche and the wine finishes clean and crisp with flint-like minerality.

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.

In exceptional vintages we occasionally find special pockets of grapes destined for the Basket Press. The resultant wine is the pinnacle of our wine making. Intense purple, red rimmed with a palate of multi -layered fruit, a heady mix of leather, tar, mint cassis and plum held together with fine grained tannins and spicy oak.

Comes in wooden gift box.

Tasting Note A potpourri of dark petals and Indian spices dominate the inviting bouquet. Dark and deep fruit on the palate is amply supported by complexing savoury and earthy notes. It’s not just fruit, there’s so much more contributing. This is our diverse four vineyards coming together to superbly express the classic character of Bannockburn: black cherry fruit notes and silky, chocolate laden tannins. 

Introduction Commencing with meticulous site selection and vineyard design in 1991, Felton Road's story is one of refusal to compromise. A strict 100% estate policy with fully organic and biodynamic viticulture (BioGro and Demeter certified) ensures that our fruit arrives at the winery as pure as it can be, while our entire estate comes as close to true sustainability as is possible. The winery is also B Corp certified and a proud member of IWCA (International Wineries for Climate Action). A commitment to hands off winemaking: gravity flow, wild yeasts, wild malo, an avoidance of fining and filtration all help preserve the wine's expression of its terroir. The result is Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir which accurately express the authenticity and complexity of our unique vineyards.  

Gareth King; Viticulturist, Blair Walter; Winemaker, Nigel Greening; Vigneron. 

Vineyard & Viticulture 

Felton Road farms four properties totalling 34 ha in the Bannockburn subregion of Central Otago. This wine is a blend from our four vineyards; Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvest are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality fruit. Cover crops are planted between rows to assist in vine balance and to improve soil health and general biodiversity. 

Vintage 

After a wet September, spring commenced with good soil moisture and bud burst occurred at the normal time of early October. Temperatures hovered around average with December being warm and dry, enabling a successful flowering and fruit set. The dry conditions prevailed throughout January and February limiting berry size and setting the scene for fruit with elevated phenolic material and complexity. Judicious use of irrigation was required to maintain sufficient vine health throughout this sustained dry period. Temperatures never spiked and hovered around average enabling a slow and steady path to maturity. A distinctive feature of March 2024 was the cool night temperatures preserving acidity, freshness and precision of fruit character. Pinot Noir was harvested from 19 March to 9 April.

Vinification

The unique gravity flow winery enabled the grapes to be gently destemmed directly into open-top fermenters without pumping, retaining 20% as whole clusters. Traditional fermentation with a moderately long maceration on skins has extracted good colour and tannin with considerable depth of flavour. This wine was aged for 13 months in 20% new French oak barrels from artisan Burgundian coopers. In accordance with our non-interventionalist approach to winemaking, this wine was fermented with indigenous yeast and malolactic, and was not fined or filtered.

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. 

Rosé is on the rise and Terrace Edge is a quirky blend of Syrah and Pinot Noir, a gold medal winner and certified organic. Its taste lives up to its delicious win with its medium body, dry flavours of summer berries (think: strawberries with a hint of creamy texture) and a lively fresh finish. 

Origins

Coleraine derives its name from the Coleraine vineyard, home of John and Wendy Buck of Te Mata Estate. John’s late grandfather was born in Coleraine in Northern Ireland and the name has been maintained through the family home to the wine. A single vineyard wine until 1989, Coleraine is an assemblage of the finest wines produced from distinct plots within Te Mata Estate’s oldest vineyards first planted in 1892.

Winemaking

Each parcel of grapes was destemmed before a traditional
warm-plunged fermentation and extended maceration on skins. The resulting wines were then run to predominately new French oak barrels for 19 months’ maturation,
with 70% being new oak. Throughout this time, they were regularly topped and racked. The assemblage was made in November 2024 and the finished wine was bottled in December 2025. The final blend is 58% cabernet sauvignon, 31% merlot and 11% cabernet franc.

Tasting note

A deep, brilliant crimson with a vibrant purple core, Coleraine ’24 opens with an alluring bouquet of fresh roses, cassis, dark cherries and blackberries. Layers of
dark chocolate, nori, black olive and subtle cedar add complexity, while lifted florals and a savoury coastal nuance enhance its depth, precision
and beauty. On the palate, a concentrated wave of red and dark fruit flows over velvety, cocoa-powder textures, as expansive, silky tannins weave seamlessly through the wine. This enormity of scale is highlighted by a fine, focused acid line that drives through to a finish of exceptional length. With immense power held in delicate restraint, Coleraine ‘24 is destined to unfurl over decades.

Ageing potential 

Coleraine is known for its longevity. While approachable in
its youth, it typically reaches its peak after 10–20 years, developing more complex tertiary notes like leather, truffle, and cigar box.

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