It's no secret that great Chardonnay is made in beautiful rolling Moutere Hills in Nelson, which is home to the clay based vineyard where this wine comes from. Hand picked grapes were pressed into French oak cuves, where they went through spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts followed by malolactic fermentation and minimal filtration at bottling. This wine is fresh, dry, full bodied and creamy, balanced by nutty and citrus flavours.

Odyssey Wines is owned by winemaker Rebecca Salmond, who sources grapes from a number of different regions. She produces exceptionally good value wines, including this full bodied, creamy big Chardonnay from Gisborne; the fifth biggest wine region in New Zealand - and aptly named the country's Chardonnay Capital.

Luna winemaker Joel Watson is a devoted fan of Martinborough Syrah but is also candid about how tricky it can be to grow in this dry North Island wine region. His latest is a great example of cool climate Syrah with spicy black pepper aromas leading into a velvet smooth, highly structured wine with a full body and lingering finish thanks to its refreshing acidity. 

The Luna Syrah is made from grapes grown on the winery's Blue Rock Vineyard, which was planted south of Martinborough township in 1997 on a steep north facing slope. The sun shines all day here, providing evening ripening conditions for this late ripening grape variety but the wind also brings its influence to bear, making high crops a marginal prospect in this relatively cool climate. 

This is a stunning wine with huge complexity of clove and peppery spice coupled with dark chocolate and black fruit flavours. What's not to love in this wine. 

The Elder Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown on a small, elevated, stony, north facing vineyard, situated south of Martinborough township on White Rock Road. It's produced by Mike and Margaret Hanson and Nigel and Bridgit Elder, hence the name.

The wine is an earthy, delicate style of Pinot Noir, made for the two couples by winemaker Paul Mason of Martinborough Vineyards. 

TASTING NOTES: Aromas of ripe dark red berry fruits dominate the nose with hints of spice and floral notes in the background add complexity. Velvet soft tannins form the backbone of this succulent and vibrant Pinot Noir. Spice flavours come through on the mid palate along with rich cherry fruit flavours and underlying savoury notes. This is a superbly balanced, elegant and weighted Pinot capable of ageing for up to ten years.

Barrel fermented with extended lees contact & aging.

Tasting Note: Co-fermented blend of Riesling and Pinot Gris; floral and citrus aromas. A savoury and full palate, balanced with appealing Waitaki minerality. Harvested 9th May 2021. 12g/l residual sugar, 3.15pH, 8.8g/l total acidity. 80 cases total production.

Vinification

Our Estate grown grapes are hand harvested, then whole bunch pressed gently over several hours. The must settled overnight before being racked off gross solids taking only fluffy lees. Fermentation is allowed to proceed slowly at low temperature and stopped when the sugar, acid, alcohol and phenolics are in balance. We hold the wine at a cool temp for the remainder of it’s time in the cellar to retain its natural co2 spritz from primary ferment. The wine is racked and spends 6 months on fine lees before bottling.

Wine

Pale green gold and silver streaks. Delicate notes of apple blossom, honeysuckle, mandarin zest with mineral undertones.On the palate - lime oil, fleshy stone fruits, ripe red delicious and tangerine peel. Bright acidity gives the palate freshness and is balanced with generous fruit sweetness. These aspects are accentuated by the natural spritz retained from fermentation which give a lift in the midpalate. The reprise is long and lingering with a satisfyingly crisp clensing texture.

Tech

Parcel 1: Picked 31/03/23 pH: 2.96 TA: 9.20 Brix: 20.5

Parcel 1: Picked 04/04/23 pH: 2.92 TA: 9.20 Brix: 21.7

Final Wine: Bottled 28/03/24 pH: 2.86 TA: 8.17 Alc: 10.3% RS 27.8g/L

This flagship Chardonnay expresses a medley of peach and melon flavours, overlaid with toasty oak. A rich, ripe style with finely integrated oak and a taut but harmonious acidity on the finish. - Matawhero.

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. 

A portion of the proceeds of each bottle of smooth and spicy Crimson Pinot Noir goes towards Project Crimson; a native tree replanting project nationwide in New Zealand, which the Ata Rangi winery is involved in today.

This wine is dry, medium bodied and fruit-led with red and dark fruit flavours leading into toasted spice notes and a lingering finish. It's one of Martinborough's great gateway Pinot Noirs. 

The name Ata Rangi is Maori for dawn sky and was chosen to portray the new beginning that the start of this winery represented for founder Clive Paton in the late 1970s. 

The Wrekin Vineyard lies within its own small valley located on the north facing slopes of the Fairhall Valley. It is part of a sub-region of Marlborough known as the Southern Valleys.

This wine is made by Jeremy Hyland (vigneron) and winemaker Hätsch Kalberer offering and offers intense orange blossom and stone fruit on the nose. All the classic aromatics of a Chenin Blanc. The palate is dry and broad with focused crisp acidity balanced with rich lime and pear.

Form Jules Taylor...

Chardonnay is one of the unsung heroes of Marlborough but also a wine that can divide the room! Jules’ take on this variety is a far cry from the big buttery Chardonnay-bombs from the 1990s. Instead Jules prefers a wine with delicate freshness and attractive fruit flavours that express the vineyards in which they were grown. With only 10% new oak and a partial malolactic ferment, this elegant wine that will convert even the most die-hard chardonnay-basher!

Classy fruit-forward Pinot grown on Upper Moutere clay. The elegant nose offers wild red fruits and brambles that lead to a seductive, feminine palate layered with fine tannins and lifting acidity.