Radburnd Cellars Chardonnay 2018

Radburnd Cellars Chardonnay, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, 2018

100% Chardonnay from two vineyards planted with old-vine Mendoza clone, matured in barrel for 9 months.

Delicious wine with lovely tropical fruit flavours, from the family owned vineyard in Hawkes Bay on the North Island.

An elegant Chardonnay which focuses on the beautiful structure so evident in this grape variety. Pristine fruit and balanced acidity are the backbone, enhanced with seamless texture and mouthfeel. Citrus notes, particularly grapefruit pith abound, gracefully supported by sweet French oak.

Winemaker's Notes

This Chardonnay was hand harvested and cooled overnight. The cooled bunches were hand sorted then whole bunched pressed. The majority of juice was cold settled then racked to barrel. Fermentation was in new and seasoned French oak, with selected cultured yeast and indigenous yeast, for added complexity .A combination of 500L puncheons and 225L barriques were employed. Lees stirring post fermentation was regular and malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel. The Chardonnay matured in barrel for 9 months before blending and bottling. 

Radburnd Cellars was established in 2017, with the single purpose of Kate making her very best wine from each vintage without compromise - using the best fruit, the best equipment and the best resources. We make a single tier of wines in very limited volumes – representing the best, not the most We’ve carefully selected vineyards around Hawke’s Bay that are perfect for the wines we make, in the style we love. All vineyards we source fruit from are either Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand accredited or organic.

"Yet another example of the appetising-but-far-from-austere nature of fine NZ Chardonnay. People forget that Hawke's Bay Chardonnay was so celebrated. Excellent combo of rich fruit and fresh, natural acidity. Long and satisfying. Yummy stuff. But not cheap."

Rating: 17/20 points, Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com September 2020.

Drink now to 2023.