Main Divide North Canterbury Chardonnay 2024

Description

Hazelnut, Oak, Vanilla

"Excellent value. A hint of flinty minerality. Yet full bodied and creamy with soft acids, buttery yeasty brioche, canned peach, toasty vanilla oak and ripe mandarin citrus" Phil Parker, Ponsonby News, Sep 2025

"Splendidly fruited and elegantly complex, the wine presents notes of apricot, lemon zest, nougat, and flint on the nose. The palate is generously weighted and textured with bright acidity, making it well-balanced and flavoursome with a lingering, juicy finish" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, July 2025

"Such an enjoyable wine with a bouquet of apples and white peaches,  grapefruit and layers of oak and lees, some late harvest fruit suggestions and flint. Excellent weight and mouthfeel with a gentle SO2 spritz then flavours that reflect the bouquet. Dry and textured with some fine fruit and wood tannins, medium+ acid line and lengthy finish. Best drinking from 2025 through 2030" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2025

"Rich, flavoursome wine with charred oak, sizzled butter, struck flint, nectarine and citrus flavours. Complex wine that offers great value at this price" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, The Real Review, Jul 2025

With a brilliant pale gold colour, Main Divide Chardonnay 2024 entices with a captivating bouquet of roasted stone fruits, hazelnut, white blossom and lemon pith, melded with charred nuances and flinty undertones. The palate displays succulent fruit intensity together with fleshy texture and rounded mouthfeel, complimented by a fine ribbon of acidity that weaves through the wine, adding structure and vibrancy. Elegant and wonderfully balanced, the finish is long and resonant, with a grapefruit twist.

Main Divide is the local name for the Southern Alps and is the backbone of the South Island, where grapes for Main Divide are exclusively sourced. Vineyards have been selected for their quality and ability to express unique regional flavours.

Cooler and windier conditions during Spring meant lower crop levels, keeping fruit thinning to a minimum. The weather gods then handed us the opposite during Summer, with a warm and settled state prevailing, so this smaller crop was able to mature beautifully. Autumn was similarly favourable, allowing each variety to be picked at its optimum ripeness. Our 2024 harvest saw smaller yields across the board, but as a result we were blessed with intense fruit flavour and concentration, delivering some outstanding wines.

We use traditional Burgundian winemaking methods. The fruit was harvested in stages during the second half of March and early April, then gently pressed. Afterwards, the non-clarified juice was put into large French oak barrels (puncheons), where it underwent primary fermentation by the grapes’ natural yeasts. The wine was then matured in these barriques on its own yeast lees (sur lie). In late spring after harvest, it started to go through spontaneous secondary (malolactic) fermentation. It was regularly tasted during this time and the fermentation was stopped when the ideal balance was obtained.