Abel Tasman Chardonnay
Talk
We make our Chardonnay how we like to drink it. We love Chardonnay with energy. It's got to be vibrant, with a real core of fruit which our Moutere clay soils deliver. Think citrus-lead fruit like grapefruit and lemonade lemons, plus a little green nectarine.
This provides freshness and purity from the get-go, and we retain this freshness through fermentation and maturation in large French oak cuves as opposed to small oak barrels.
With this base we can then follow through with a bit of flinty reduction (vintage dependent) via full solids and wild fermentation, lifted spice and structure from the oak, and a mouthful of texture from warm ferments, full MLF, and a lengthy amount of time on lees.
Bundle that together and tighten it up with a string of pure fresh acidity that comes naturally off the Moutere clays, and voila, you have Abel Tasman Chardonnay.
Taste
Lifted citrus fruit, savoury richness, fresh acidity, highly textured, bone dry.
Time
Delicious Chardonnay doesn't get made overnight. It's hours, days, weeks and months in the vineyard. Then hours, days, weeks, months and years in the winery.
Time is important. Good wine needs time. Time in the vineyard, time in the winery, time in the bottle, and time in your glass.
"New Zealand Chardonnay, the white wine I have long thought was New Zealand's real strength". Jancis Robinson