Each year that I spend a few days up in Central over harvest, I get to share in a wide range of wines both local and international, which is informative, educational and rather fun. Thinking back to this year’s visit, I realised that other than a couple of barrel samples, there were no Chardonnays from Central tasted, with examples from Marlborough, Gisborne, Margaret River and Chablis in France featuring. I’ve put that right today with a grouping of mostly Central wines that reminded me what I’d missed. 2021 Martinborough Vineyards Home Block Martinborough Chardonnay Price RRP $39.99 Rating Excellent to Outstanding Tangy brightness to this, fruit pastille, citrus, stone fruits, classy oak adding spice. Quite a structured style, chewy grip, a mix of white and yellow fruits, toffee apple, sweet fruit yet tangy zestiness, a backdrop of cashew nut. Deceptive, fine-boned style that doesn’t leap out at you, but shows its class as it grows with time. www.martinborough-vineyard.co.nz 2020 Mt Difficulty Ghost Town Lowburn Valley Chardonnay Price RRP $42.99 Rating Excellent to Outstanding Classic struck match reductive notes, ripe fruits sashaying between stone & tropical, a perfume note, clotted cream, refined oak. Rather beguiling. The palate more taut & structured than the nose suggests, grainy, powerfully citrusy with a refreshing sweet/sour interplay on the close. Builds fleshiness and complexity over time, long carry, super wine. www.mtdifficulty.nz 2022 Rockburn Central Otago Chardonnay Price RRP $32 Rating Excellent Nicely expressive & ripely fruited, nectarine & melon, nutty characters, spice, a little toffee backdrop. Again the palate shows grainy chewiness and tautness at first, nutty aspects evident, lime citrus overlaid on the stone fruits, while the bright acid backbone keeps this nice and lively. Develops lovely creaminess yet retaining an attractive cool quality. www.rockburn.co.nz 2020 Domaine Rewa Central Otago Chardonnay Price RRP $65 Rating Excellent to Outstanding Flecks of fruit sherbet, then wisps of struck match, citrus, the fruit neatly in support. A whisper shy, but classy. The palate brimming with flavour, lovely mouthfeel and weight, while maintaining a refreshingly cool quality. Nutty, spices, perhaps a little mineral, this is all about the balance and integration. A wine that you want to return to. www.domainerewa.com 2019 Mt Difficulty Ghost Town Lowburn Valley Chardonnay Price RRP $42.99 Rating Very Good to Excellent Fascinating smoke and wild yeast nuances shifting to nutty characters, a little wildness, teasing out greengage plum & grapefruit. A bit of an iron/stony mineral quality gives a cooling vein, while there’s nice texture and a citrusy close. Understated perhaps, but quietly fascinating — I’m left wanting to delve into this a bit more. www.mtdifficulty.nz 2022 Mora Central Otago Chardonnay Price RRP $45 Rating Excellent A nutty/straw/wheat-like note leads, melon, citrus, white peach, a curl of smoke, swelling with aeration. Great flavour intensity, depth, vibrancy & energy flowing to a long close. Ripe fruit picking up hints of dried pineapple and citrus, yet always retaining juicy freshness. Showing its youthful vibrancy with some fine, drying tannins, but already drinking very nicely. www.mora.co.nz
