Greenhough Road Block Chardonnay 2020

Greenhough Road Block Chardonnay, Nelson, South Island, New Zealand, 2020   

Grape: 100% hand picked, organic Chardonnay sourced from both the Morison & Road Block vineyards (Mendoza & UCD15 clones), wild fermentation in barrel (10% new French oak) with 9 months' ageing in French oak with minimal lees stirring, malolactic completed in Spring, bottled unfined and only "coarse" filtered.

Producer Tasting Note:

Ripe aromas of tangelo, apricot and subtle savoury, bakery notes. Citrus fruit flavours are at the riper end moving to tropical papaya and a fleshy, creamy succulence. A little new oak spice and barrel-ferment richness adds complexity to this riper fruit spectrum. The palate retains the elegance of juicy acidity throughout.

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: Meaty fish and shellfish. Subtly flavoured poultry and pork dishes.