Dog Point Vineyards, Chardonnay

Wine Type: White

Grape(s): 100% Chardonnay

Country: New Zealand

Region: Wairau Valley

Organic: Yes

Vegan: Yes

ABV: 13.5%

Winemaker: Matt Sutherland. Dog Point vineyard was first planted in 1979 by Ivan and Margaret Sutherland. Ivan was chief viticulturist at Cloudy Bay, and it was here he met James Healy. Together they aspired to produce their own wines. Today their children Matt, Eliza and Kirsty head the operation.

Tasting Notes: Pronounced notes of gunflint and struck match on the nose are followed on the palate by ripe citrus and stone fruit flavours. Focused, with a fine core of acidity and an almost crystalline purity on the mid-palate, giving way to a nutty, spicy finish.

Winemaking: The grapes come from vines planted on silty-clay loam soils, with some gravel interspersed. The vines are 78% Mendoza clone and 22% Clone 95 with an average age of 27 and are cropped at around 6 tons-per-hectare. All harvesting is by hand. The grapes are whole-bunch pressed straight to barrel (10% new), without clarification and fermentation took place using indigenous yeasts. Spontaneous malolactic conversion took place and the wine aged for 18 months in barrel before being bottled unfined and with minimal filtration.

Food Pairing: Roasted poultry, cheese, vegetable risotto.