"91pts... Beautifully ripe and fragrant, the complex bouquet shows white stone fruit, rockmelon, vanilla and cedar characters with hints of nougat and brioche. It is succulent and elegantly weighted on the palate, and displays lovely fruit intensity, wonderfully enhanced by creamy mouthfeel and well-integrated acidity. Charming and delectably enjoyable. At its best: now to 2020" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, July 2017

"Awarded #6 of 25 2016 Chardonnay from Marlborough...Fresh, fruit-focused chardonnay with green apple, citrus and chalky mineral flavours. The wine has nice purity and an ethereal texture with tangy acidity helping to drive a reasonably lengthy finish. Stylish wine offering value at this price. Food: Parmesan gnocchi, wild mushrooms, parmesan purée, petit pois" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2017

"Awarded 18/20... Bright straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, paler on the edge.  The nose is powerfully concentrated with deep, intense and tightly bound aromas of citrus fruit and white stonefruits entwined with spicy, nutty and toasty oak.  The aromatics are fresh and youthful, verging slender in proportion, but with excellent penetration and depth.  Medium-bodied, the palate is tightly bound with a concentrated core of citrus and stonefruit entwined with spicy, nutty and toasty oak flavours.  This is firm and intense at the heart..  The palate is fresh and crisp, with bright, lively acidity guiding the wine to a long, lingering finish.  This is a firmly concentrated and intense Chardonnay with stonefruit and citrus fruit entwined with strong spicy, nutty and toasty oak notes.  Match with grilled and roasted seafood and poultry dishes over the next 3-4 years.  Fruit from the ‘Sawcut’ vineyard, Ure Valley, hand-picked, WBP and fully barrel-fermented to 13.0% alc. the wine aged 10 months in 39% new French oak barriques undergoing batonnage and 100% MLF" Raymond Chan,  Jul 2018

"Still unfolding, the 2016 vintage (4.5*) was handpicked in the Ure Valley, fermented and matured for 10 months in French oak barriques (39% new), and given a full, softening malolactic fermentation. Tasted in mid-2018, it has a fragrant, biscuity bouquet, leading into a mouthfilling, slightly creamy wine with vibrant grapefruit and peach flavours, fresh acidity, well-integrated oak, and excellent delicacy, complexity and harmony. Best drinking 2019+" Michael Cooper, 2018

Pale gold. Elegant fragrant fresh peach with hints of oak spice and crushed oyster shell. Luscious nectarine and citrus flavours with a hint of spice. The palate has a rich, almost chalky texture and excellent length

A warm growing season, with characteristically cool nights made 2016 an ideal vintage and allowed concentration of flavours. Low rainfall eliminated disease pressure which resulted in high quality fruit. The fruit was carefully monitored during ripening, once at maximum flavour maturity and physiological ripeness the best bunches were selected and hand harvested in the cool of the dawn. At the winery the grapes were whole bunch pressed, then fermented in new and seasoned French oak barriques. The wine was matured on lees and in barrel for 10 months. The 2016 Hatters Hill Chardonnay is an elegant, fruit driven wine, with a chalky mineral note resulting from the limestone soils it was grown on. Toasty French oak complements the fruit flavours. This wine is drinking beautifully now and will continue to positively evolve over the next five years.

The fruit is sourced from a single vineyard located at the Southern part of Marlborough. The unique vineyard site has limestone soils which produce a mineral character and texture.

Food Pairing: An ideal match with fresh goats cheese or roast chicken.