Hot off the press.. Black Market brings you a new exclusive collection of some of our favourite Chardonnays, perfect for a lover of Chardonnay, offering toasty French Oak influences to apple blossom and honeydew melon flavours...

Muddy Water Waipara Chardonnay 2015

Awarded Gold Medal: New Zealand Organic Wine Awards 2018

Awarded Gold Medal: New Zealand Organic Wine Awards 2017

Awarded 95/100 Points: Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

Awarded 94/100 Points: Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2017

Awarded 92/100 Points: Decanter Magazine, Feb 2018

"Full, rich and engaging bouquet. On the palate – creamy, firm, youthful, fresh and dry. Packed with mineral and texture and a lengthy beguiling finish. Drink now and through 2026" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

"Rich and appealingly layered chardonnay. A smooth textured wine that's drinking well now but should develop well" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2017

Organically grown on deep, fine textured Awapuni clay soils. Five clones were planted in 1993 and remain on their own roots. Vines are now of an age where they self-regulate low crop loads, leading to intensely flavoured berries. A long, warm ripening period produced ripe skins and seeds, and small, clean, super concentrated berries with rich phenolics. 

Individual rows were handpicked during cool autumn mornings before being whole bunch pressed to 500L French oak puncheons for hands-off and natural fermentation lasting many months followed by malo-lactic fermentation through the following summer.  

Food Pairing: Recognised by Organic Wine Awards two years running, we therefore suggest pairing this delicious wine with an organic feast of quinoa, chickpea bowls served with lemon and tahini dressing

Seal: Screw Cap - Alc: 14%

Quarter Acre Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2017

Awarded 94/100 Points: Sam Kim, Wine Orbit,  Apr 2018

Awarded 18/20 Points: Raymond Chan, Apr 2018

"Wonderfully ripe and fragrant. Concentrated and beautifully weighted, delivering lovely fruit purity together with elegant oak infusion, brilliantly framed by bright acidity. At its best: now to 2021" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit,  Apr 2018

"The nose is very elegant and slender in presentation with a fine and tightly packed core. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant in proportion with taut, but intense and penetrating flavours of white stonefruits with hints of citrus fruit and white floral elements. The fruit is detailed by subtle notes of minerally lees and nutty oak. The flavours possess a subtle richness which is balanced by crisp, lacy acidity, and the wine flows smoothly along a very fine line with good energy and tension, leading to a slim, but sustained finish" Raymond Chan, Apr 2018

Predominantly from Doc’s Block by the sea at Haumoana, where the vines are about twenty years old and have previously served up some of Hawke’s Bays finest Chardonnay grapes. This was blended with organically certified Chardonnay from another of Quarter Acre's blocks where the vines are twelve years old and planted on an ancient river terrace along the Ngaruroro River.

These grapes were hand-picked fruit and whole bunch pressed before run straight to new and seasoned French oak barriques (50% new). Wild ferment took a while to get underway, however once it got going it fermented hot and fast. Around 40% natural MLF took off in spring, the wine then rested on gross lees for around nine months before it was bottled. 

Food Pairing: Pair with homemade fresh kiwi fare such as simply grilled Snapper!

Seal: Screw Cap - Alc: 13%

Margrain Martinborough Chardonnay 2016

On the palate, old fashioned white peach is again obvious in harmony with a rich oily mouth feel. There are notes of unpasteurised soft-rind cheese, no doubt a hangover from the relatively warm barrel ferment and long lazy lees aging which followed over the next 18 months. Sweet, spicy oak complements the fruit components and the battle between nature and nurture ends in a draw as the palate reflects a contented wine of good length and pleasing weight.

“The winemakers grape” as Chardonnay is often known, willingly submits it’s flavour profile to the hand of its creator, yet still manages to reflect the vintage conditions and degree of ripeness at harvest. Because of the subtle, non-aromatic nature of the fruit aromas, the influence of barrel fermentation and oak handling, the degree of malolactic fermentation and use of lees stirring are all time-honoured techniques by which the winemaker can place his (or her) thumb print firmly on what is arguably the most noble of all white wines.

Food Pairing: The food possibilities are endless but try it with a hearty puttanesca or a steaming dish of gratin potatoes.

Seal: Screw Cap - Alc: 13%