Luna Estate Martinborough Chardonnay 2023

Description

Apricot, Oak, Vanilla

"An attractive, youthful and enticing bouquet with aromas of peach and red apple, there’s a suggestion of pineapple just before the measure of oak begins to show as the wine opens out in glass. A delicate flinty quality with a nut and wood spice layer adds complexity and depth. Firm and dry with a satin-cream touch, there’s plenty of flavour to reflect the bouquet with peach and red apple then citrus. Fine fruit and wood tannins, a lick of flinty mineral and clay stony-earth qualities add breadth and depth. Best drinking from December 2024 through 2027+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Sep 2024

"Elegant and complex, the inviting bouquet shows apricot, rockmelon, vanilla and roasted cashew aromas, leading to a beautifully weighted palate offering silky flow backed by juicy acidity, making it delectable and delightfully drinkable. At its best: now to 2029" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2024

"Subtle, smoky oak with mealy undertones and earthy/stony complexity lurking in the wings. Ripe citrus and nectarine build on the palate, underpinned by zingy acidity. Flavoursome but not heavy, this is persistent and already accessible with nutty, savoury notes beginning to emerge. An easygoing and undemanding style, it is enjoyable now and will give a little more with mid-term cellaring" Stephen Wong, The Real Review, Nov 2024

"Already enjoyable, the lively 2023 vintage (****) was fermented and matured for nine months in French oak barrels.  Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling and vibrant, with generous, peachy, citrusy fruit flavours to the fore, gentle buttery, biscuity notes adding a touch of complexity, and a dry, crisp finish.  Best drinking mid-2025+" Michael Cooper

Clear, bright, pale gold appearance. Really like smelling this! Looks every inch a cool climate Chardonnay! Stonefruit, green melon, mineral flintiness. As the bouquet opens in the glass some lovely malty, subtle vanilla notes, a hit of wild honey and nougat. Real nice! Lovely texture and line through the palate. Positive minerality with subtle lemon and white fleshed stone fruit flavours linger. Salivating and salty finish.

There is a saying in the wine industry - "There are no bad vintages, just the off challenging one". Vintage 2023 here in Martinborough would certainly fit into the challenging category. The now infamous triple dip La Nina certainly lived up to the hype. Persistent rainfall and high temperatures are not conditions that favour grape farmers. It took all of our collective skill and hard work to pull the crop through.

Winemaking can be a tough trade and unlike beer or gin makers we only get one shot each year to creat our product, and it's all about the quality of the fruit. If mother nature does not abide then touch luck, you gotta work with what you get.

Upon reflection, vintage 2023, whilst very callenging and far from "classic", was actually very successful, for us at least. Certainly a tale of two vineyards; our Blue Rock vineyard performed extremely well and quality was outstanding. Less so our Eclipse vineyard, although there were some excellent pockets, particularly Chardonnay. The biggest take home for me personally was the excellent, never say die attitude of our team. We rallied hard, we doubled down and we never gave up. It is true that adversity builds strength and resilience. Making awesome wine from the tougher seasons is what this job is all about. Bring on the next vintage.

Crafted using fruit sourced from our most recently planted Chardonnay blocks. Vines are around 5-6 seasons old and 2023 is the second season of production. Upon recieval into the winery the fruit was gently pressed and the juice was transferred into a temperature controlled stainless steel tank where it was allowed to sit at around 8 degrees for 3 days to allow most of the solids to settle out prior to transfer to seasoned French oak barrels for fermentarion and maturation. This Chardonnay spend around 9 months in barrel prior to gentle filtration and bottling February 2024.

Food Pairing: Pan roasted crispy skin snapper fillet, pomme puree, beurre blanc.