A very composed and complete wine that has plenty of vibrant lively fruit freshness on the nose and a smoothly rendered array of ripe peach and nectarine fruits in the mouth. Some warm oak spice builds nicely into the finish. In good form. Drink now. Screw cap.

Score: 96

The 2016 Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay is marked by smoky new oak, but there's also pineapple and grapefruit notes that create a crisp, acidic spine. Draped off of that are hints of white peaches, roasted hazelnuts and tangerine. There's an almost briny zestiness to the lingering finish that sets it apart from the winery's other single-vineyard bottlings. 2018 - 2028

Behind the ripe fruit the apricot there is steely lemon freshness layers of flavour lots of complexity. Creamy in the middle the fleshy mango backed by hints of vanilla the back palate has a savoury zesty freshness some underlying flint the finish is long and lean. 2019-30

Mate's Vineyard is on a real role at the moment. The nose to this wine brings the ripeness of Coddington and the mineral steeliness of Hunting Hill to one wine. Ripe, juicy lemons and white stone fruit with a hint of stuck-match and underlying mineral coolness on the nose. The palate is riper, more expressive, with hints of guava and sweet, exotic spices. Creamy vanilla brings an almost buttercream richness and texture, turning lemon blossom to lemon curd and adding layer upon layer of visceral texture. As the finish approaches, this is cut through and refreshed by very bright, lively, zesty acidity, taming the exotic richness and bringing savoury balance to the wine. Whilst still very young, you can almost drink this now, but it has a great future ahead.

Quite a concentrated chardonnay with lime, citrus, hazelnut, bran biscuit and a suggestion of tropical fruits, mango and pineapple. A weighty wine with impressive length and complexity. Good now but will obviously respond well to bottle-age.

Intricate nose of dried grass, sweet lemon peel, green fig and dusty minerality. Real allure and intrigue, the palate is bright and fresh, linear and vibrant with a real generosity of flavour on the finish.

Hugely intense and liqueur-like. A bit like a Kumeu River Chardonnay compote. Really dense and jewelly and long. Almost flashy!
Drink 2019-2035

This great chardonnay is just beginning to give its best. Cool and very fresh with lemon-blossom and lemon-curd character, married to considerable richness and animating acidity, this proves that New Zealand can play in the global chardonnay first league. Super fresh finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.