"A stylish rendition; the delicately lifted bouquet shows white flesh nectarine, rock melon, lemon peel, flint and wet limestone characters, leading to a finely textured and focused palate that is linear and tightly structured by vibrant acidity. The wine offers excellent purity and poise, promising to evolve beautifully. At its best: now to 2022" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Aug 2018

"Brilliant straw-yellow with pale golden tints, lighter on the rim. The nose is firmly concentrated with deep and well-packed aromas of white and yellow stonefruits complexed by an amalgam of nutty oak, mealy elements and hints of flinty, minerally reduction, unfolding nutty lees and oak toast. Medium-bodied, the palate has a rich, but finely concentrated and taut core of white and yellow stonefruits entwined with complexing mealy notes and a harmonious layer of nutty oak with reductive flinty and mineral elements. The fruit has excellent vitality, energy and linearity, and the wine carries along a fine-textured line, leading to a sustained, nuanced, elegant finish. This is a rich and concentrated but taut Chardonnay with stonefruits, nutty oak and reductive flinty and mineral complexities on a linear palate with excellent acid tension. Serve with seafood and poultry dishes over the next 4 years. Predominantly Mendoza clone fruit from Omaka, Renwick and Rapaura, fermented with cloudy juice in French oak puncheons to 12.5% alc., the wine aged 10 months on lees in 15% new oak with 20% MLF" Raymond Chan, Jul 2018

"Full of youthful vigour, this barrel-fermented wine has a fragrant, flinty bouquet. Fresh and fullbodied (13% alc/vol), it has grapefruit and peach flavours with biscuity, smoky notes adding complexity, and a dry, crisp finish" Michael Cooper, the Listener, Jun 2018

"Peaches, cream and vanilla scented bouquet with yellow apple and a light grapefruit note. Firm and dry on the palate, with flavours of cashew nut oak, grapefruit then peach. Vibrant textures from the acidity and oak tempered by the fruit, fine powdered tannin moment then juicy fleshy fruit flavours again. Fairly lengthy finish, balanced and well made. Drink now and through 2022" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, The Shout, May 2018

The 2017 Chardonnay shows a bright, flinty nose of nectarine, citrus and hazelnut. The front palate is tightly structured, displaying crisp peach characters and tight, linear acid. The wine is superbly balanced with fresh fruit characters, excellent oak integration all supported with Hunter’s characteristic balanced acidity.

After a dry winter, spring brought mild temperatures and relieved pressure on water supply after two vintages of drought conditions. These mild temperatures continued into summer but our low cropping levels meant good ripening through January and February. In what will ultimately go down as a ‘challenging’ vintage thanks to abnormal periods of rain, unwavering vineyard preparation delivered excellent fruit condition and flavor concentration.

Hunter’s Chardonnay is a wine that the winemaking team is particularly proud of. Old vine Mendoza Chardonnay was selected from our Rapaura and Omaka vineyards and either machine or handpicked. The 2017 vintage is 100% free-run juice which was pressed and immediately run down to large oak casks for a
high solid, indigenous fermentation. The controlled oxidative handling of the wine minimises the phenolic uptake. Following fermentation, 20% went through natural malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged in barrel on lees for 10 months before being racked and blended. The oak regime consisted of 100% French oak, 15% of which were new. This wine drinks very well on release but will develop and evolve over the next 5-7 years.