Hunter's Marlborough Chardonnay 2021

The wine has a complex, gun-flint nose with beautiful flavours of white peach and grapefruit characters with some citrus undertones. The palate shows a tight mid-palate with sweet vanilla wood characters that leads into a complex and lengthy finish. Good balance from the toasty oak integration that compliments the silky texture on the palate. This wine drinks very well on release but will develop and evolve over the next 5-7 years.

Chardonnay grapes were sourced from the Rapaura and Omaka sub regions of Marlborough. We have been using the same vineyards for many years which gives the wine a certain level of consistency. The grapes were picked by machine or hand depending on the block and pressed without sulphur to a stainless-steel vat. The cloudy juice was transferred into 500 litre French oak puncheons for fermentation. Indigenous yeasts were employed for alcoholic fermentation after which, 80% malolactic fermentation occurred. The wine was aged in puncheons on yeast lees for 12 months before racked off its lees ready for bottling.

At the start of the growing season, we had several frost events affecting isolated areas in Marlborough. During flowering there was a cold spell of weather, which had a significant effect on the region’s fruit set. While this affects the yield, it can help promote concentration of aromas and flavors in the grapes. Mild summer conditions help with even ripening of the grapes which allowed perfect conditions to pick at optimum ripeness.

Chardonnay grapes were sourced from the Rapaura and Omaka sub regions of Marlborough. We have been using the same vineyards for many years which gives the wine a certain level of consistency. The grapes were picked by machine or hand depending on the block and pressed without sulphur to a stainless-steel vat. The cloudy juice was transferred into 500 litre French oak puncheons for fermentation. Indigenous yeasts were employed for alcoholic fermentation after which, 80% malolactic fermentation occurred. The wine was aged in puncheons on yeast lees for 12 months before racked off its lees ready for bottling.

12 months in French oak barrels