Cable Bay Waiheke Island Chardonnay 2021

Description

"Rich, creamy and full-bodied with aromas and flavours of peach custard and fresh red apple, there’s a grapefruit quality accentuated by the acid line and tannins. Great mouthfeel from tannins and lees, acidity and Brazil-nut fruit combinations. there’s a stony dry earth quality adding breadth and complexity across the palate" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Dec 2024

"An arresting, perfumed nose of sandalwood, sweet balsamic and amber. The palate is structured and youthful, showing very good concentration of heritage apples and citrus flowers seasoned with subtle spicy oak, Long saline acidity provides balance and shape. An elegant, driven chardonnay in the modern style, this will gain weight, nutty complexity and more earthy spice with time in bottle" Stephen Wong, Master of Wine, The Real Review, May 2025

"Aromas of lemon confit, grapefruit, flint and lime blossoms. The palate is medium-bodied with a generous texture and high-tension acidity. Very bright and fresh with an underlying power" James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com, Mar 2025

"Still youthful, the estate-grown 2021 vintage was hand-harvested, and fermented and matured in French oak puncheons.   Light lemon/green, it is a medium-to-full-bodied, savoury wine, with fresh, ripe, peachy, slightly biscuity flavours, finely integrated oak, and excellent depth and harmony.  Already highly attractive, it should be at its best 2026+" Michael Cooper, Jan 2025

From grapes grown on naturally low yielding, old vines, this wine is vibrant and complex. Grapefruit, peach and earthy clay pot aromas complement a fresh and focused palate. Fine phenolic texture and mineral acidity add depth and length respectively. The salinity from the ocean, oak influence, together with juicy tree fruit notes from the grapes, round out what is truly a charming wine.

Our Waiheke Vineyard is accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing NZ and is entirely owned and managed by Cable Bay Vineyards to ensure we produce the best quality fruit possible. We practice regenerative viticulture. The site is located on the sun-drenched, western side of the island, on steep slopes overlooked by Rangitoto volcano. We have predominantly mineralised clay volcanic soils over Jurassic era rock. This type of geology and soil provides wines with great mid-palate weight and minerality. This wine is a blend of Chardonnay clones 15, 95, 6 and 548.

The ripe fruit was hand-harvested early in the morning whilst the grapes were nice and cool, transported across the road to the winery, and immediately whole bunch pressed. It was settled and racked taking light lees, leaving textural Chardonnay juice to enter wild yeast fermentation. We allowed partial malolactic fermentation on this wine, to both develop mouthfeel while preserving the natural acidity of our warmer sub-tropical climate. Following barrel ferment, the wine aged in second use oak puncheons and barriques on full lees for 12 months before assemblage, and then a further 3 months integrating together as a blend in tank, before bottling.