Today we are spoilt by choice when it comes to the Chardonnay varieties on offer in New Zealand. Our wine writer Joelle Thomson shares three of her favourite white wines to enjoy this winter.
“Chardonnay is the most popular wine globally, and today the third most popular in New Zealand, with sales are climbing. It’s fair to say Chardonnay is enjoying a comeback,” says Thomson. As the third most planted grape here in New Zealand (after Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir), its quality and diversity are also growing. Here Thomson shares three outstanding white wines to try this winter.
Wine writer Joelle Thomson
Main Divide Chardonnay $21
Main Divide is the little brother of Pegasus Bay Chardonnay and it consistently over-delivers on flavour and value for money. The hand-picked grapes in this 2020 vintage were whole bunch pressed into large French oak puncheons where they were fermented with wild yeasts and then matured on yeast lees for nearly a year. For a wine of this extraordinarily good value, it comes at an incredibly modestly priced.
Graze with: your favourite creamy brie or camembert cheese.
Serve with: a lemon-glazed roast chicken.
Rating: 18.5/20
Tony Bish Heartwood Chardonnay $35
Big, bold and delicious. This 2019 Chardonnay was one of only two New Zealand wines to make it into 2020 Top 100 Wine Discoveries listed by leading wine authority Robert Parker. This wine is made entirely from the Mendoza clone Chardonnay grown in the Upper Dartmoor Valley and Bay View in Napier. The grapes were hand-harvested, and nearly all of them fermented in barrel with five per cent in a French oak ovum. Regular lees stirring adds creamy flavours and builds structure, while the cool nights in Dartmoor Valley give it a beautifully balanced yet refreshing acidity.
Graze with: aged cheddar or Parmigiano cheese.
Serve with: pan-fried chicken with fresh herbs and crunchy cos lettuce salad.
Rating: 19/20
Dog Point Marlborough Chardonnay $38
This 2018 Chardonnay is one of Marlborough’s and New Zealand’s great wines. It’s made from hand-picked Chardonnay grapes grown on the winery’s home vineyard, the earliest plantings dating back to 1981. The grapes were fermented in French oak barrels, 10 per cent new, for primary and malolactic fermentations. The wine spent 18 months in barrel, which provides creamy nuances and a deliciously rounded, full body. And for those who are looking for vegan-friendly Chardonnay, it was bottled without fining.
Graze with: hot smoked salmon.
Serve with: seafood - oysters, freshly shucked and lemon.
Rating: 18.5/20