- 100% Chardonnay
- Block 2 was planted in 1992 and is positioned on a gentle east facing slope, immediately north of Block 3 on the Elms vineyard
- Deep angular schist soils
- Hand harvested
- Whole bunch pressed, settled over night and flowed by gravity to barrel
- Fermented with indigenous yeasts in season French oak (no new oak), followed by a long and complete malolactic fermentation
- Aged for 16 months in barrel (11 months on gross lees) and carefully racked to tank
- Bottled unfined and unfiltered
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2022
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Central Otago
Appellation:
Central Otago
Variety:
Chardonnay
Color:
White
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | NZ-FRW-20-22 | 6/750ml |
Resources
Press & Reviews
James Suckling
Score
96
Date
2023-11-03
"Yellow apple, apricot and acacia followed by baking spices, marzipan and stony minerality with a touch of cheese rind. Medium-bodied with a good backbone of acidity which balances out the wine well. Beautiful harmony and drinkability. Mendoza clone (Wente) on own roots. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
Wine Advocate
Score
94
Date
2023-12-14
"The 2022 Block 2 Chardonnay was bottled, along with the Block 6 Chardonnay, in September 2023, as opposed to the 2022 Bannockburn Chardonnay which was bottled in May of 2023. The same winemaking (aside from a difference in the time spent in oak) across the cuv,es serves to highlight the vineyard differences. This Block 2 is far more aromatically restrained and certainly hides the voluminous fruit behind a sheath of mineral phenolics. The wine is powerful but restrained and pure in its way. It's lovely, with a gentle brine note through the finish. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap."
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2024-04-11
"The 2022 Chardonnay Block 2 is an athletic wine that knows where the finish line is. Clear and precise with a mouthwatering, sappy finish, it offers restrained fruit flavors of apple, pear and citrus alongside almond croissant notes. While serious, it has a pleasing roundness on the mid-palate that makes it approachable with food from 2024 onwards."
Jancis Robinson
Score
17+
Date
2024-04-08
"Elegant, flavourful and savoury. Mouth-filling, with high lemon-fruit intensity but lots of purity and focus. The oak is very elegantly used. The flavours last with a wet-stone minerality, dried herbs and a touch of white mushrooms. (FG)"
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
2021
Decanter
Score
95
Date
2023-01-05
2021
James Suckling
Score
94
Date
2022-11-02
2021
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2023-04-11
2021
Wine Advocate
Score
92
Date
2024-02-22
"The 2021 Block 2 Chardonnay is a powerful wine, with crushed nuts and orchard fruit aplenty in the mouth. The acidity is pert, verging on frisky, and serves to spear through the heart of the fruit. It has an open-weave, granular sort of shape to it—not loose but almost. Robust fruit is on display here. This is authoritative, with robust acidity. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap."
2021
Wine Spectator
Score
92
Date
2023-10-31
2021
Jancis Robinson
Score
17+
Date
2022-10-24