Vavasour Awatere Valley Chardonnay 2024

Description

Melon, Oak, Oatmeal

"Stylish and complex, the wine exhibits notes of apricot, rockmelon, vanillin oak, and oatmeal on the nose. The palate displays excellent weight and silky flow, splendidly framed by juicy acidity, resulting in a harmonious and elegant profile with a lengthy, satisfying finish. At its best: now to 2030" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Mar 2025

"Bright, even, medium yellow gold. The nose is gently full, with aromas of lemon, stonefruit, roasted almond shavings and minerals. Full-bodied, aromas of apricot and lemon, flow with invigorating acidity, alongside lemon peels, almond shavings, and spice. A mouth-filling, creamy palate grazes the bright fruit and lends a long, satisfying finish. This creamy Chardonnay is broad, with bright fruit and generous aromatics" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Jul 2025

"Aromas and flavours of fresh peach and lemon, there’s a distinctive flinty quality contrasting a creamy satin texture. Medium+ to full-bodied with a seam of wood spice and lees, fine fruit and wood tannins and an earthy wet stone idea. Rather delicious, well made, still developing with best drinking from mid to late 2025 through 2030" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Jul 2025

An elegant expression of the Awatere Valley, this wine opens with lifted aromas of white peach and citrus blossom, underpinned by subtle toasty brioche and a distinct maritime salinity. On the palate, layers of ripe nectarine and orchard fruits glide over a foundation of structural minerality. Hints of flinty oak and a creamy, textured mouthfeel are beautifully balanced by vibrant, precise acidity, delivering a long, refined finish that speaks to its cool-climate origins.

This stonier, drier, cooler & windier pocket of Marlborough, the Awatere Valley, conspires to produce distinctive, complex & intriguing wines.

The 2024 vintage is one for the record books, largely influenced by the anticipated return of the El Niño weather pattern. The preceding winter saw significantly below-average rainfall, raising concerns about dry soil conditions as spring approached. This was followed by a growing season with sparse rainfall, and between December and April, the region experienced its lowest rainfall in over 90 years.

Fruit was hand harvested at full maturity and gently whole bunched pressed to stainless steel. Following a short settling period the juice and fluffy lees was run down to French oak barrels and puncheons. Indigenous yeast strains were cultured for each parcel of fruit to enhance characters from the vineyard. Barrels were stirred fortnightly through malolactic conversion to promote textural elements and enhance structure. The wine was matured in oak barrels and puncheons for 10months allowing some for yeast autolysis to occur adding weight and complexity to the wine. The wine was blended in late summer of 2025 and prepped for bottling shortly thereafter.