Excited was an understatement when saying how we felt about getting this wine to bottle. This was our first vintage and it was an absolute belter. The Havelock Hills have become renowned in recent years for producing world class Chardonnay and after this vintage we can see why. Rex Jones’ watercolour of Te Mata-o-Rongokako beautifully illustrates the sleeping giant at the apex of this land.

The fruit was dry farmed and hand harvested. In the winery the fruit was whole bunch pressed and barrel fermented in old french barriques and puncheons. Wild fermentations played out over 12 months before being racked to bottle without fining or filtration. This wine is vegan friendly and will age superbly over the next ten years.