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Why New Zealand Chardonnay deserves the spotlight

While Sauvignon Blanc might be New Zealand's most famous export, the quality of its Chardonnay merits just as much attention. David Kermode talks to Kiwi winemakers about a variety that may shine brightest in their country

Words by David Kermode

Kumeu River, Mate’s Vineyard
Kumeu River's Chardonnay vines

New Zealand is so synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc that its barnstorming success actually frustrates many Kiwi winemakers, even those who proudly produce wines from the variety. It might seem perverse but I can understand their aggravation because there’s so much else to be excited about, chiefly Chardonnay, which is, to my mind, the country’s best kept secret.

Sauvignon Blanc accounts for around nine of every ten bottles exported from New Zealand and there’s little evidence that the ‘bubble’ (if you can call it that, after two decades) is about to burst, with the best contemporary examples exhibiting more restraint than the early, overt, gooseberry-bombs that triggered a vinous revolution. The problem is not so much Savvy’s success but the shadow it casts over everything else.

In blind tastings, Kiwi Chardonnay has routinely outperformed Burgundian examples several times the price

To develop an enthusiasm for a style of wine, it must be easily available, and therein lies part of the problem: a search for ‘New Zealand white’ on the Waitrose website reveals a bewildering 26 different Sauvignon Blanc cuvées from which to choose, quite a few of them strikingly similar, with just two suggestions for Chardonnay. Even The Wine Society, with its unrivalled range, currently has a ratio of 17 to nine, Sauvignon to Chardonnay. The reverse would be preferable, for the latter offers more interest and diversity.

Craggy Range's Te Awanga Vineyard near Cape Kidnappers
Craggy Range's Te Awanga Vineyard near Cape Kidnappers

There’s a reason that Chardonnay is ubiquitous around the world. Famously malleable, it is the winemaker’s flexible friend, reflecting terroir many thousands of miles from its spiritual home in Burgundy, enjoying notable success in Argentina and Australia. Yet I believe New Zealand is where it shines the brightest, courtesy of the cool climate and long ripening time that endows the variety with a particular sense of vibrancy and concentration. In blind tastings, Kiwi Chardonnay has routinely outperformed Burgundian examples several times the price.

‘The light and the climate help make it fruity but not too fruity [and] naturally bright acidity allied to decent concentration makes it suitable for a Burgundian vinification style. The fact that it’s generally not the cash cow also means that people can afford to take it seriously,’ says Master of Wine Alex Hunt, purchasing director at Berkmann Wine Cellars and a member of the IWSC’s senior judging committee. He highlights Marlborough, the epicentre for Sauvignon Blanc now winning plaudits for Pinot Noir, as a region to watch for Chardonnay in the years to come.

Though Chardonnay might be a relative newcomer to New Zealand, the variety is already well understood

One name inextricably associated with Sauvignon Blanc is, of course, Cloudy Bay. Launched in 1985, it’s a trendsetter that has become a crown jewel in the Möet Hennessy stable. The brand launched a Marlborough Chardonnay just a year after the Sauvignon hit the market. An accomplished wine, it is all too often regarded as a support act, a source of frustration for Cloudy Bay’s winemaker, Daniel Sorrell: ‘Chardonnay is New Zealand’s unsung hero, from top to bottom,’ he tells me.

Kumeu River's Mates Vineyard in spring
Kumue River's Mate's Vineyard is one of the benchmark plots for Chardonnay in New Zealand

‘Winemakers can have a big influence on Chardonnay but that’s happening much less here, as rather than trying to make a ‘show wine’, they are more respectful of the fruit… If you go to the top of the North Island you have The Landing making stunning Chardonnay, there’s Auckland where Kumeu River is the benchmark producer, through Hawke’s Bay, Martinborough, then Marlborough, down to North Canterbury and Central Otago. Everyone makes something that’s regionally different… it is exciting because we have only been making Chardonnay here for 40 years, so just think where those wines will be in the next 40, once those vines mature and start expressing more concentration.’

Blank Canvas, started in 2013 by husband and wife team Matt Thomson and Sophie Parker-Thomson MW, is one of the producers leading the way with Chardonnay in Marlborough

Though Chardonnay might be a relative newcomer to New Zealand, the variety is already well understood, with clonal selection playing a pivotal role in the production of world class wines, as Steve Smith MW, chief winemaker at Smith and Sheth, explained to me: ‘One of the great tools we now have is that we possess a collection of four or five different selections of Chardonnay that are very complementary to each other, so we can plant vineyards with multiple clones, each with a purpose, like the Mendoza clone, which tends to have higher acidity and clone 95 (a Burgundy clone) which is lower; combine the two and the acidity is bang on, so you can do a lot of the crafting of the wine you make from the clonal selection you make… some of these clones can crop more heavily, so what that means if you’re making fine wine is you need to drop a bunch of that fruit on the ground really early, but if you do that it’s a beautiful component in the finished wine (and) as these clones fit into the places they are growing, I think the best is yet to come.’

 

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Smith, who like most of his peers also makes a Marlborough Sauvignon, is working with new clones of Chardonnay, including one from a cutting he brought back from an 80-year-old vine in Montrachet some years ago. So what defines a Kiwi Chardonnay?  ‘We can get the vines properly ripe, which means 12.5-13.5% alcohol (but) they don’t get overripe because it’s not hot and at that full ripeness, we also have this energy and natural acidity, which most other parts of the New World and many parts of Europe cannot achieve anymore because it is getting warmer. A really great New Zealand Chardonnay will not be overtly fruity on the nose; will be quite complex; will have delicious ripeness and a sense of energy and freshness – all of which is hard to do anywhere else.’

Seven top New Zealand Chardonnay wines to try

New Zealand Chardonnay

Kumeu River, Mate’s Vineyard 2022

From New Zealand’s Chardonnay pioneer, the country’s first Master of Wine, Michael Brajkovich, who works miracles in the challenging climate of Auckland, while resisting the slow spread of suburbia. His flagship wine, produced from the Mendoza clone, the vines planted in 1990, entices with peach melba, charred pineapple, ripe russet apple and ethereal hints of lime zest. There’s dense concentration balanced by a crystalline purity and elegant structure, with the layered complexity lingering beyond the long, slightly saline finish. Still quite tightly wound when I tasted it earlier this year, so one for the cellar.

Lea & Sandman, £57

New Zealand Chardonnay

Smith & Sheth, CRU Heretaunga Chardonnay 2021

One of a fabulous fleet of Chardonnay wines from Steve Smith MW, Heretaunga is the original Maori name for Hawke’s Bay, from the gravel soils of Bridge Pa, Omahu and Mangatahi. The nose reflects the summer-fruit-scented warm breezes that characterise the region, with ripe apples, nectarine and peach, underscored by raw hazelnuts. With perfectly balanced plump fruit intensity, oatmeal and brioche, the new oak (30%) is well integrated, there’s notable energy and a delicious bitter lemon zing to the finish. A delicious wine that offers remarkable value for money.

Waitrose, £29

 

New Zealand Chardonnay

Blank Canvas, Reed Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

Seasoned consultant Matt Thomson and his wife Sophie Parker-Thomson MW, a lawyer turned winemaker, are on a mission to make Marlborough better understood (check out their detailed maps at www.appellationmarlboroughwine.co.nz ) and their Chardonnay could be the region’s poster child. Sourced from a single vineyard in the Waihopai Valley, fermented with indigenous yeasts in 500-litre puncheons, the nose is gently aromatic, with nectarine skin and ripe yellow apple, leading into a generous feast of stone fruits and succulent citrus that remains fine-boned and precise, with a delicious savoury complexity and nutty finish.

Cambridge Wine Merchants, £31

New Zealand Chardonnay

Cloudy Bay, Chardonnay 2022

It might sit in the shadow of its famous Sauvignon stablemate but this wine, from the stony soils of the Wairau Valley and the clay of the Southern Valleys, deserves, at very least, equal acclaim. A tight nose of Sicilian lemon and nectarine leads into a taut yet unmistakably complex, structured wine, with plump ripe apple and juicy peach balanced by a lime acidity. Lithe and juicy, still quite tightly wound when I tasted, there’s energy and obvious ageing potential.

John Wines, £33

New Zealand Chardonnay

Craggy Range, ‘Kidnappers Vineyard’ Chardonnay 2022

From a vineyard at Te Awanga on the scenic headland of Cape Kidnappers, named after an attempt by local Maori to kidnap one of Captain Cook’s crew members, a cool climate, coastal Chardonnay that’s closer to Chablis in style, with limited use of oak puncheons for texture rather than taste. An elegant nose of lemon zest, greengage and Asian pear leads into a sleek, structured wine, with a salty sea-breeze salinity and seemingly effortless purity.

Majestic Wine, £23

New Zealand Chardonnay

Man O’ War, Valhalla Chardonnay 2021

From volcanic soils perched on steep slopes on the paradise island of Waiheke, a stone’s throw from Auckland, a rich, exuberant and delicious Chardonnay with aromas of grilled pineapple and guava, leading into a plump palate bursting with ripe apricot and peach, balanced by a refreshing sabre of citrus acidity.

Vinvm, £28

Marisco Vineyards, Leefield Station Chardonnay 2022

While Marisco Vineyard might be closely associated with The Ned, their Chardonnay is making waves, winning a silver medal at the IWSC 2024. A delicate aroma profile with hints of butter on toast, flint and nuts. The palate is light and lean, with fresh apples and sweet vanilla spice.

Vinvm, £12