• French oak
• Grapefruit & stone fruit
• Vanilla & biscotti
• Fine texture & long finish

"Complex and refined with a sense of restraint, the wine shows grapefruit, lemon pith, white flesh nectarine and gun smoke characters on the nose with nuances of vanilla and almond. The palate exhibits brilliant focus and concentration with fine texture and tight structure, leading to an impressively long linear finish" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2020

"Described as 'a typical coastal Chardy', the distinctive 2018 vintage (5*) was hand-picked and fermented and lees-aged for 10 months in French oak barriques (40 per cent new). Bright, light lemon/green, with a fragrant, complex bouquet, it is mouthfilling and savoury, with concentrated, ripe, peachy, citrusy flavours and a lasting finish. Showing excellent personality, it's well worth cellaring" Michael Cooper, May 2021

"Taut, fine-boned chardonnay with citrus, white peach, struck-flint, mineral, ginger and toasty flavours supported by a perfect balance of fine acidity. It has a deliciously ethereal texture" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, May 2021

"A big, strapping, peaches, and cream style of wine. There's grapefruit, quince, toast, salted caramel, and vanilla pod on the nose. Full, fleshy, richly textured, and tasty with a nice salted lime/seaweed acid vein to keep everything in check. A very generous, appealing wine" NZ Wine Rater, Jul 2021

A typical coastal Chardonnay with citrus and stone-fruit aromas combined with a lovely biscotti and spice complexity. On the palate, it’s fleshy and textural with a little minerality and tightness which promises a long life and gathering complexity.

The vineyards of Te Awanga are characterised by shallow volcanic loess soils over deep gravels – ideal for creating wine of great flavour. Underlying these soils is a rising and falling clay pan at about 35 centimetres. Even though it’s a challenge for grape growing, the pan limits vine vigour and is a major factor in concentrating the flavours of the fruit. The coastal climate, with its sea breezes and mild day and night temperatures, is vital in creating slow ripening which also intensifies the flavours of both red and white wines.

Grapes were hand harvested and whole bunch pressed to ensure juice was fine, retained a low pH and brightness. We ran the juice straight to barrel (all French oak barriques, of which around 40% were new) without settling, attempting to create complexity and texture in doing so. The wine was fermented wild and left on wild yeast lees for ten months before it was blended ahead of bottling. We work hard in the vineyard and winery to create an environment which allows minimal handling and as a result have produced a wine that’s got as much flavour and character as we could manage.

Te Awanga is a sleepy seaside village. There’s a lot of reasons why it was first settled in the 1800’s, but we’re picking that one of them was probably not that there’s a great point break. A break which works particularly well when the seas are heavy and easterly. In local parlance, ‘the loom’ is the name given to the best wave of the day. Every day there are countless waves, but every day there will be one that is the best. That’s the loom. The challenge is that you never know if the wave you’re considering catching is the loom, or whether it’s in fact going to be in the next set. So you need to be out there a lot, the longer you’re out, the better chance you’ll have of seeing it and riding it. And of course everyone has a different version of the perfect wave, so there’s a lot of trash talk about which was the best of the day, plenty of room for unbridled opinion. Growing grapes and making wine is like that. The year is long and from the first green leaf of spring, the fruit is making its way to the final day on the vine - harvest. Deciding to pick, that’s our wave. The decision to harvest is based on the weather, ripeness, flavour, acid, condition, canopy health, but mostly a gut feeling that you’ve extracted everything you can or need to from the season. Experience and time in the vineyard is the only way you’re going to know. Once we’re on it, we’re committed, it sets up everything that happens in the winery and how we decide to ride, achieve the best balance, create the most unique, flavourful and individual wine we can. A bit like being on the best wave of the day, enjoying the best you can put together.

Contains Sulphites. Traditional fining using egg whites, traces may remain.