Matahiwi Holly South Series Wairarapa Chardonnay 2017

Matahiwi Holly South Series Wairarapa Chardonnay 2017"A magnificent new offering from their home vineyard; this is superbly fruited and complex on the nose showing nectarine, mango, lemon peel, cedar and vanilla characters. The palate delivers terrific fruit intensity and fleshy mouthfeel, wonderfully complemented by creamy texture and refreshing acidity. The wine is multi layered and mouthfilling with gorgeous fruit flavours and stylish oak infusion. At its best: now to 2022" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul

"A magnificent new offering from their home vineyard; this is superbly fruited and complex on the nose showing nectarine, mango, lemon peel, cedar and vanilla characters. The palate delivers terrific fruit intensity and fleshy mouthfeel, wonderfully complemented by creamy texture and refreshing acidity. The wine is multi-layered and mouthfilling with gorgeous fruit flavours and stylish oak infusion. At its best: now to 2022" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul 2018

"Soft, rich and creamy chardonnay with ginger, apricot, peach and spicy oak. Silken-textured wine, with an impeccable balance of subtle sweetness and fruity acidity. A classy wine with a moderately lengthy finish" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jun 2018

"Bright, pale, lemon-hued gold colour, lighter edged. The nose is very fresh and bright with vibrantly aromatic aromas of yellow stonefruits and citrus fruit, unfolding lifted oak vanillins and nutty detail, with some creamy barrel-ferment elements. The nose is fine and refreshing in expression. Medium-full bodied, the palate has a refined and elegantly concentrated core with tightly bound flavours of citrus fruit and yellow stonefruits, along with subtle nutty and creamy barrel-ferment density. The fruit vibrancy is enhanced by fragrant, lifted oak. The mouthfeel is poised with fresh acidity balancing the fruit depth. This has freshness and vitality, and carries to a taut, sustained finish of citrus fruits, nuts and oak. This is a youthfully fresh and finely elegantly concentrated Chardonnay with stonefruit and citrus fruit, along with subtle nutty oak on a palate with vitality. Match with seafood, poultry and pork over the next 4-5 years" Raymond Chan, Jun 2018

You will see aromas of melon, stonefruit, biscuit and toasty oak. The palate is rich and textural, with creamy complexity and a long, elegant finish. Whilst delicious now, this wine will continue to develop in the bottle over the next decade. 

This barrel fermented Chardonnay was grown in the Matahiwi Estate home vineyard and hand picked on a beautiful autumn day by a very special team. This is the first bottling that we have done from these vines.

The fruit for this wine was the first bottling off Mendoza, clone 95 and Clone 15 Chardonnay vines planted in the home vineyard at Matahiwi Estate in 2013. 2017 was a long, cool growing season resulting in low yields of ripe, concentrated fruit. The grapes were hand harvested to ensure optimal condition.

The fruit for this wine was whole-bunch pressed straight after picking, with the cloudy juice then being transferred directly for fermentation into French oak barrels, with 40% new oak, using a mixture of cultivated and wild yeasts. Once fermentation was complete, the wine was left on lees in barrel for approx. 11 months to promote texture and mouthfeel, before preparation for bottling.

Food Pairing: We suggest pairing it with spit-roasted wild pork or freshly caught crayfish.