2020 'Reed' Marlborough Chardonnay
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The 2020 Chardonnay Reed Vineyard is fermented in barrels, of which 40% are new. The wine is then left alone with just the occasional top-up. Winemakers Matt and Sophie Thomson call it “lazy winemaking” with tongues firmly in cheek. The result is a wine of excellent purity, offering up nectarine and lemon fruit flavors; full solids have imbued a distinctive flinty note, while the savory, nutty character derived from the wood adds layers and will integrate further with another year in bottle.
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Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Full bottle 1,421 g. From the Waihopai Valley. Clone 95. The Chardonnay was whole-bunch pressed with only the very cloudy free-run juice going into new (40%) and used French oak puncheons (500-litre). No sulphur was added so a spontaneous fermentation started, which didn't wholly finish until the following January. It underwent natural malolactic conversion in the spring. No lees stirring. Bottled without filtration and with a very low total SO2 of 36 mg/litre at the beginning of April 2020. Stelvin Lux closure. TA 5.6 g/l, pH 3.27. Seductive and well-judged ‘reductive’ (smoky, struck-match) aroma and really toasty as it opens up, something cedary. Very Coche Dury but, most importantly, there is the fruit intensity to carry off this winemaking style. Nutty, creamy, mealy citrus. So many things going on that it makes you slow down to try to enjoy all this complexity. Deep, deliciously fresh and incredibly persistent with an aftertaste of savoury/mineral citrus. Worth every penny of its NZ price of $45 (from the producer's website). Classy and got better and better over the few days post opening. (JH)