Main Divide Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2022

Main Divide Waipara Valley Chardonnay 2022French oak Stone fruit Brioche Elegant "An impressive bouquet with a reductive gun flinty quality, ripe, fresh and new too with aromas of apples and white peach, citrus peel and spice. Flavours on the palate mirror the bouquet with a satin texture, contrasting acid line and a nutty biscuity quality. The gun flint character is persistent adding a quality I enjoy in this example. Well made with best drinking from 2023 through 2027" Cameron Douglas

• French oak
• Stone fruit
• Brioche
• Elegant

"An impressive bouquet with a reductive gun-flinty quality, ripe, fresh and new too with aromas of apples and white peach, citrus peel and spice. Flavours on the palate mirror the bouquet with a satin texture, contrasting acid line and a nutty-biscuity quality. The gun-flint character is persistent adding a quality I enjoy in this example. Well made with best drinking from 2023 through 2027" Cameron Douglas Master Sommelier, Apr 2023

"Warmer days and cool nights equal great flavour development in grapes and this full bodied, creamy and citrusy Chardonnay is the embodiment of that, offering outstanding flavours every vintage. Here is a wine that consistently offers extraordinarily good drinking for a modest price. The grapes were given all the treatment of a higher quality, lower volume wine; fermented in French oak barriques with natural yeasts found on the grapes then matured in barrel til late spring. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation softens develops further depth in the wine softening the wine’s natural acidity" Joelle Thomson, Spring 2023

On release it has a bright lemon hue. Stone fruit and citrus aromas entice the nose, melded with honeysuckle and almonds, and hints of brioche. Beneath this is an underlay of flinty, wet stone minerality, and a whiff of gun smoke, adding a savoury complexity. The palate is perfectly pitched, its generous body complimented by vibrant and bright acidity, that creates a pleasing tension. Plush yet elegant, the encounter concludes with a prolonged and moreish finish.

Average weather over flowering resulted in a balanced crop, meaning no further fruit thinning was carried out. This was followed by a cooler than average summer which delayed maturity. Fortunately, a warm dry autumn allowed the grapes to be left on the vines till later in the season, where they were able to achieve the desired level of ripeness.

We use traditional Burgundian winemaking methods. The fruit was harvested in late March and early April and then gently pressed. The non-clarified juice was then put into large French oak barriques, where it underwent primary fermentation by the grapes’ natural yeasts. The wine was then matured in these barriques on its own yeast lees (sur lie). In late spring after harvest, it started to go through spontaneous secondary (malolactic) fermentation. It was regularly tasted during this time and the fermentation was stopped when the ideal balance was obtained.

Main Divide is the local name for the Southern Alps and is the backbone of the South Island, where grapes for Main Divide are exclusively sourced. Vineyards have been selected for their quality and ability to express unique regional flavours.