Bright, tangy riesling in a medium-dry style with green apple, oyster shell, lime zest/citrus and quince flavours supported by mouth tingling, fruity acidity. Good purity and a lingering finish.

Green apple on the nose, with tangy fruit, citrus, peach and nectarine on the palate.  With vibrant acidity and aromatic intensity, this off-dry wine has the ability to reflect the terroir.

Hand harvested and lightly oaked Chardonnay from Martinborough with floral touches intermingling with pineapple, honey nougat, citrus and baked cheesecake on the nose. The palate is fresh with superb acidity and creamy spiced sweetness.

Fresh, delicate aromas of almond, stone fruit with a hint of old oak. Cirrus is the rounder of the two Chardonnays with lovely ripe, textural tropical stone fruits wrapped with moreish, mouth-filling phenolics.

Named after the imperial Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku, the ‘footprint of the rainbow’ or Mt Tapi, as the locals call it.

This sparkling wine is made with the Charmat method which involves the secondary fermentation taking place in tank whereby the bubbles are trapped under pressure. The wine is bright, fresh and fruit froward and stylistically straddles prosecco (made in the same way) and method traditional.

The aim for this Chardonnay is to retain a fresh structure with a complex palate. It is the vineyards, wild-ferment and barrel characters that make up the complex nose and palate.

This fruit comes from three vineyards; the Taylor Vineyard, which is in the Rapaura area, the Twin Valleys vineyard, which we have been working with since 2003 and a ten rows of Clone 1066 from the Mahi home block.

All of the vines were intensively hand-tended, and the grapes hand-picked and then taken to the winery for whole-cluster pressing. The resulting juice went straight to French oak barrels and fermented with indigenous yeast from the fruit. After fermentation the wine sat on yeast lees for eleven months prior to blending and bottling.

VARIETY: Chardonnay
WINEGROWING TEAM: Brian Bicknell, Phoebe Cathcart, Max Bicknell, our focused growers and brilliant vintage staff
ALCOHOL: 13.6%
TITRATABLE ACIDITY: 6.9 g/L
RESIDUAL SUGAR: 0.35 g/L
BRIX AT HARVEST: 21.9 - 24.9
HARVEST: Hand-picked, 16 March - 4 April

2024 ORATERRA CHARDONNAY

SEASON BRIEF FOR 2024 The 2024 season was a contrast to 2023, coming with a sting - or in this case, a grand finale - at the end. It was a splendid season, and the general feeling is that 2024 will be remembered alongside 2013, 2001 and 1998 as an outstanding year. A cool and turbulent spring meant that the fruit set was reduced, and thus the potential yield at harvest was down too. However, summer conditions were nothing short of amazing, the sun was out in full force, with very little rainfall. The key to the success was our vineyard management this year by keeping ample shade and leaf cover to lower vineyard temperatures and conserve water. The extended warm and dry weather periods resulted in wines that have retained freshness with good generosity. 

TASTING NOTE We are so impressed with this wine. It was a remarkable vintage for ripening and acid retention; to be honest, from the moment we picked it, we had a good feeling about the potential of this Chardonnay. It was never going to disappoint. Fruit dominance is seen in kumquat, cut meadow flowers, buttercups and chalk. None, perhaps, is typical for Chardonnay, but so characteristic of ours. The wine moves steeply and swiftly over the palate like a river, with amazing textures and shapes. The acid is a solid levee, guiding the wine and giving it direction. However, its full-bodied nature wants to spill over the sides, filling the mouth from front to back and forward again like a wave, full of energy. Ageing: Age for 8-10 years to reach its peak. Enjoy at a temperature of 16°C - 18°C. 

WINEMAKING Hand-harvested fruit was pressed the following day, chilled. After a light settling, the juice was racked into foudres (1000 litres wooden casks) for a spontaneous ferment. Spring malolactic fermentation started naturally in October/November and finished in early 2025. The wine remained in these foudres, on lees, for 18 months. It was then transferred to tank and bottled without fining or filtration in December 2025.

Commercial description

The Drinking
Bright, fresh, varietal and attractive bouquet with a pure fruit core of white fleshed stone fruits then citrus, some floral notes then sweet oak. Nice weight and texture from occasional barrel stirring and a mix of seasoned and new oak, hazel nut, with some macadamia and vanilla in the background. Fine dusty wood tannins keep the texture flowing while acidity and alcohol carry flavour through to a lengthy finish.
— Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier (The Shout Magazine, Sept 2021)

The Growing
This was a hot and dry vintage with almost zero rain right through summer. Dry farming practices since planting day, along with being herbicide free under vine, has encouraged the vine roots to grow deep into the sandy Esk River loam in search of water and nutrients, giving a more expressive wine with intensely flavoured smaller berries. A 70/30 mix of two clones; 548 and 95, this wine will only improve with careful cellaring for another 6+ years.

The Making
Hand picked grapes were gently whole bunch pressed before some of the juice was pumped direct from the juice tray into barrels and the rest was settled over night. It was then transferred into a mix of 20% new and seasoned French barriques and hogsheads and fermented with indigenous yeast. Post primary ferment, barrel stirring commenced every so often, to keep the yeast in suspension, adding a layer of complexity and imparting some yeasty goodness. The wine was barrel aged on lees for 11 months and malolactic fermentation happened naturally, with no fining and minimal sulphur added prior to bottling.

Kin by Te Kano is a quintessential expression of Central Otago Chardonnay. Made with sustainably farmed grapes from our Estate vineyards, Kin references the family ownership and Kowhai regeneration project that stand at the heart of our philosophy and provides an easy-drinking and delicious introduction into the Te Kano range.

Commercial Description

Our Ballochdale Vineyard in Marlborough is soul food for everyone who visits. its isolation, elevation and breath taking views simply fill you up. Our beautifully structured Sauvignon captures its special character with every sip. Flavours reminiscent of limes and nettle flowers with hints of green melon all wrapped around a  delicious acidity and natural fruit ripeness.

Close your eyes and think of warm sunshine and snowy mountain peaks. This wine takes you there.

This is the first fruit from the new Dicey Syrah vines and the results are impressive.

The fruit was all destemmed and fermented with indigenous yeast and received 21 days on the skins with had daily punch downs. The wine spent 10 months in neutral oak and went through natural malolactic fermentation.

The nose is bright and expressive with boysenberry, blackcurrant and elegant violet notes leading to a palate that is supple, lithe and lightly structured. 

From Forager wines owned by Dom Maxwell (winemaker at Greystone) comes its little siter wine Little Forager. This is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from three different sites made up of river gravels, silt loam and chalky limestone and fermented naturally with indigenous yeasts, 20% whole bunch and natural MLF.

The result is textural and generous with sweet fruit in an elegant style.