Greenhough Road Block Chardonnay 2018

Greenhough Road Block Chardonnay, Nelson, South Island, New Zealand, 2018 

Grape: 100% hand-picked, organic Chardonnay with 10 months in French oak 

Producer Tasting Note:

The 2018 vintage has provided ripe fruit flavours, balance and immediate drinkability. The nose is deep rather than overt, with aromas of tangelo, apricot and subtle savoury bakery notes. There is a depth of mellow fruit on the front palate with excellent balance and integration of elements.  Typically, citrus fruits are in evidence complimented by melon and yellow-fleshed fruits. A little new oak spice and creamy, barrel-ferment-derived richness compliments the ripe fruit flavours and adds a hint of phenolic/textural interest.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

“Tangy, Chablis-like chardonnay with oyster-shell, green apple, lime juice and subtle spicy oak flavours. A fruit-forward wine, with a delicious thread of mouth tingling acidity. Appealing purity and a silken texture. Good value at the price.”  

92/100 points, Bob Campbell’s Real Review, February 2020

“The youthful, lemon-scented 2017 vintage, grown at Hope, in the Morison and Greenhough vineyards, was barrel-fermented (16 percent new) and French oak-aged for 10 months. Bright, light lemon/green, it is fresh and citrusy, with peachy, biscuity notes adding complexity, a slightly minerally thread and obvious potential; best drinking 2020+” 

4 Stars  Michael Cooper

The Greenhough Property:

In late 1990, a young couple left Auckland to re-settle in a rural pocket of Nelson, encouragingly named ‘Hope’. Swapping city for country life, Andrew and Jenny took on a four- hectare property determined to create something of their own. The vineyard had been partially established in the mid-70s by a pioneer amateur winemaker. From a single hectare planted in the mid-1970s, their home vineyards have grown to almost nine. Prized parcels of original vines planted in 1976 remain as some of the oldest in the region. The nearby Morison Vineyard, established in 2000, adds a further four hectares. Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are the mainstays of the estate's plantings, with small blocks of additional Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer providing 'colour' to the grape varieties grown here.

Food Match: Chicken in a creamy sauce