Te Whare Ra Single Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2022

Description

Hazelnut, Lemon, Oak

"Muted aromas of smoke, white peach and cinnamon. The palate is equally restrained with chewy phenolics adding to the sense of size and dimension created by the framework of subtly spicy oak, smoke, oyster shell and late, savoury acidity. Reticent yet clearly quite dense, the flavours lurking underneath its austere exterior are compact, concentrated and suggestive of florals. An intriguing young wine with promise, this will reward time in the cellar over the mid- to long-term" Stephen Wong, Master of Wine, The Real Review, Feb 2025

Lifted aromas of pink grapefruit, toasted almond, and white nectarine are complemented by smoky, savoury notes, white florals and hints of spice. These aromas follow on to complex, fleshy palate with real depth of flavour including grapefruit, fresh fig and white stone-fruit as well as savoury, mineral notes. Well integrated toasty oak and a lingering, spicy persistence complete this wine.

The growing conditions here in Marlborough, mean that it is well-suited for the production of world class Chardonnay. We have a relatively cool climate which results in a long, even growing season which is great for flavour development. This means that we can make a style of Chardonnay which balances concentration and complexity, whilst retaining the finesse that a higher natural acidity brings – which is unashamedly the style we like to drink! This single vineyard release is solely from the 1979 planting on our TWR home block here at the winery. We have Mendoza clone Chardonnay planted here, and these vines are now 43 years old – some of the oldest in the Marlborough region. When we first tried this SV parcel in barrel, we knew it was something really special and so we decided to bottle this as a separate wine. The wine is made using traditional techniques.

Over the spring of 2021 we experienced great conditions over flowering which led to moderate crops and a nice, even set which always bodes well for very balanced, harmonious wines. We had no issues with frost and the summer that followed was generally dry and very even with no big heat spikes. We did experience some rain towards the end of February which gave the vines a nice boost to see them through till the beginning of harvest. We have described it as “the Goldilocks vintage” in that it was quite similar to the 2020 season = not too hot, not too cold, just right! The very even growing season meant that our harvest began on track with our long-term averages in mid - March and was completed by the first week in April. The resultant wines are very impressive with great depth of flavour and fleshiness whilst still exhibiting lovely purity of fruit, bright aromatics, and ripe, juicy acidity. This 2022 SV Chardonnay is drinking well now but we are consciously making a style that will benefit from some bottle age, so it will also develop with careful cellaring for 7-10 years. 

All fruit for this wine was hand-picked and then hand-sorted. The grapes were destemmed, crushed then gently air bag pressed, soft pressings were included with the free run juice. Juice was run to tank, settled lightly overnight and then filled to oak with light solids the next morning. All the parcels for this were fermented in large format French oak demi-muids (33% new). All underwent full MLF and spent 10 months on full lees to provided added texture and complexity. This wine has not been fined and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone else who loves authentic, hand-made wines.