• Toasty oak
• Ripe stone fruit
• Vanilla & hazelnut
• Creamy & velvety

"This is going to be a chubby Gisborne fellow, not fat, but hearty as Chardonnay goes. Very well made and structured. Fruit statement starting to emerge while young and shows very promising. A warm, uncluttered style, nicely balanced and Gisborne at its best" Peter Saunders Review, Sep 2023

"It’s immediately appealing on the nose with ripe stone fruit, rockmelon, nougat and oatmeal notes, leading to a beautifully rounded palate offering ripe fruit flavours with creamy texture and well-pitched acidity. Delightfully harmonious and smooth with tasty flavours. At its best: now to 2026" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2023

Our 2023 Gisborne Chardonnay immediately captures the senses with ripe orchard fruits leading the way. A medley of golden peach, ripe apple, and a touch of pineapple on the nose are enhanced by hints of toasted oak, vanilla, and hazelnut. A creamy and velvety texture envelop the palate, delivering flavours that mirror the nose beautifully. The orchard fruits persist, coupled with citrus undertones of lemon curd and a nuance of white peach. The oak presence, while evident, is seamlessly integrated, contributing a gentle toasty character and subtle butterscotch sweetness that’s elegantly balanced with a refreshing mineral finish.

The grapes for our 2023 Gisborne Chardonnay are grown at the Brunton Road Vineyard in the Patutahi Plateau, Gisborne’s youngest and most promising growing spot. The rich Kaiti clay in the soil here is famous for producing premium flavoured fruit. This spot is much warmer and drier than other areas.

Our Gisborne Chardonnay harvest occurs in mid-March. The grapes are machine-harvested in the cool mornings and evenings. The fruit is then taken to a local winery for juicing. We press the grapes gently and the free-run juice is kept separate from the pressings. The free-run juice is left to settle for 24 hours then is racked with some of the grape solids to create weight and texture. The pressings are hyper-oxidised to reduce phenolics and to add weight to our wine.

The juice is then chilled and taken to our Marlborough winery to be fermented. It is split into two batches to be fermented with different yeasts, one textural and the other fruit-focused. After fermentation, the batches are blended and aged on lees with oak staves. Weekly stirring of the lees adds a silky texture and mouthfeel. A second Malolactic fermentation occurs at this point and is stopped at 20-25% to add a creamy layer. After 5-6 months, the wine is racked off lees and oak and we bottle it as 2023 Gisborne Chardonnay.

From snow capped mountains to endless coastline, our native Toi Toi expresses itself distinctively across New Zealand. This adaptability is the inspiration for our wines - crafted from New Zealand’s best grape growing regions. Proudly family owned and sustainably produced – protecting our lands for future generations.