"Even straw-yellow with lemon hues, a little paler on the edge. The nose is softly full and gently concentrated, unfolding deep, integrated aromas of ripe white stonefruits layered with nutty lees and oak notes and complexing gunflint and mineral elements. The aromatics are refreshing with an underlying tautness. Medium-full bodied, the palate has rich and mouthfilling flavours of sweetly ripe white and yellow stonefruits entwined with an amalgam of mealy detail, soft creamy barrel-ferment elements nutty lees and oak, complex gunflint and minerals, revealing some oak toast. The flavours form a concentrated core, and the palate has fresh, lacy acidity providing energy and tension. The wine carries smoothly to a long and sustained finish of stonefruits, nuts, and flint. This is a rich, concentrated, deeply layered Chardonnay with complex flavours of stonefruits, mealy and nutty notes, gunflint and toast on a fresh, but smooth palate. Match with grilled and roasted seafood, poultry and pork dishes over the next 5-6 years. Approx. two-third Mendoza and one-third clone fruit, from vines dating back to 1981 in age, hand-picked, WBP and directly pressed to barrel, indigenous yeast fermented to 14.0% alc., the wine aged 18 months in 15% new oak with full MLF" Raymond Chan, Oct 2017

"Concentrated chardonnay with grapefruit, struck flint, mineral, hazelnut, brioche and spicy oak flavours. Youthful wine that's approachable now and offers cellaring potential. A very classy wine indeed, with subtle complexity and underlying power" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Oct 2017

"The 2015 Chardonnay is a smoky, toasty, medium to full-bodied effort marked by a terrific acid line. That grapefruit note provides the backbone over which riper notions of white peach, toasted hazelnut and pineapple rest. Zesty and refreshing, with a long, mouthwatering finish, this is a compelling example of Marlborough Chardonnay" Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate, Mar 2018

"The 2015 vintage showcases everything good about Dog Point. Handpicked, from vines that yield 30hl/ha (ie Grand Cru Burgundy level). Wild fermented, and spends 18 months in barrel, just 15% new., with full malolactic fermentation. As ever, this is carefully coiffed; a masterpiece of how to manage the interplay between spicy oak and white peach fruit, the acid perfectly natural. It’s a proudly ripe, even sunny Chardonnay, but it still finishes with grapefruit acidity tang. I can’t fault the perfect flow of flavours. Excellent, moreish Chardonnay of volume. Probably the best Dog Point Chardonnay in years too. Just delicious wine. Best drinking: 2017-2021 Would I buy it? In a heartbeat" Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review, Oct 2017

"Such precision here. There’s some matchstick minerality on the nose, which blends beautifully with the sweet but taut citrus fruit. Intense and direct on the palate with a fine crystalline acid and mineral spine, fleshed out with some yellow plum and white peach fruit. Incredible precision and concentration here, with real finesse and massive potential for development. World class" Jamie Goode, Dec 2017

"What a wonderful Chardonnay. White peach and grapefruit, oatmeal and struck match, tight tracks of gleaming acidity, and a bullet of juicy refrained flavour racing down them. A little flintiness. Some cashew creaminess. A tight and mouth-watering limey finish that makes you eye the level of the glass too often, and fret over it. You’d be mad not too" Gary Walsh, Nov 2017

"Once this organically grown wine is under your nostrils, you’ll be hooked. Scents of citrus flower and gunflint lead the way to a soft-textured mouthful, with lemon, stonefruit and a touch of brine. The finish is dry and lengthy. A polished performer" John Saker

Pale Straw in colour in the glass, this is a ripe, citrus driven Chardonnay. Characteristic biscuit and oatmeal secondary characters and mild flinty notes contrast and compliment the fruit. On the palate, our hallmark fresh, vibrant acidity offered by the Mendoza clone offers vitality and vibrancy. A modest amount of new oak delivering subtle char and phenolic structure to the wine. An intensely flavoured yet youthful and lively vintage for Dog Point Chardonnay.

Grapes (75% Mendoza, 25% Clone 95) for this wine were sourced from Dog Point's Marlborough home vineyards on hill slopes and surrounding foothills, where the soils are predominately clay and silt/clay loams. 

The 2015 harvest, began with an early start after a warm and dry season, with only half of our annual rainfall (310mm). It was a small yielding year due to indifferent weather at flowering, followed by a dry summer, which lead to concentrated wines that will age well. The grapes were hand picked and gently pressed straight to barrel (15% new) for eighteen months. There was no juice clarification with 100% wild primary and secondary fermentations.