Smells like anilla & melon, lemon zest & crème brulée.

Tastes like: grapefruit, ripe melon, apricot & toasty almond on the finish.

2022 will go down as a classic Marlborough vintage. A cool wet spring, coupled with a mild summer that led to consistent berry size and flavour development. Overall a wetter than average season that created some difficulties, but luckily the Empire Chardonnay found the season to its liking, leading to a wine with great purity and concentration.

Winemaking
Hand harvested at optimal ripeness, Whole bunch pressed with minimal Sulphur additions, cold settled then racked to French oak barrels (25% new). The barrels were left to ferment un-aided with indigenous yeasts. Once complete, light lees stirring & malolactic fermentation added complexity & depth of flavor. Bottled early, fresh and vibrant… enjoy

About the vineyard
In 2016 we planted a very small vineyard (722 vines) at Gee Street, Renwick. The unique thing about this vineyard is that it has been developed organically rather than converted once established. We planted three chardonnay clones, mainly 548 but a little 1066 & 121 which are quite rare in New Zealand.

Bottled: 21 September 2022. Released: 1 November 2022

Tasting Note | Bottle Shot