JULES TALKS CHARDONNAY
What do you look for in the perfect Marlborough Chardonnay? Jules explains what makes her mouth water.
FOOD MATCH
The delicious flavours in this wine are fantastic to pair with food.
It’s great with this "flammkuchen" - an Alsatian style of pizza (get the recipe here!). Or alternatively try it with a
simple barbequed chicken or with fresh seafood flavours such as crayfish (lobster) tails and
garlic butter.
WINEMAKERS NOTES
The fashion for chardonnay used to be for big, buttery, oaky wines. But Jules' take on this variety leans to elegance and finesse, allowing the fruit to shine through and express the vineyard where it was grown.
AROMA & FLAVOUR
Bright citrus aromas of lemon and mandarin rind combine with white floral blossom notes and crisp, cut apples, all complemented by a touch of toasted almonds and spice. The palate is ripe and juicy with elegant citrus and stone fruit flavours. Wild ferment and barrel aging have added complexity and texture, whilst retaining vivid acidity that leads to a focused, mouthwatering finish.
VINTAGE NOTES
A strong El Nino weather pattern dominated in 2024, causing strong westerly winds and warm, very dry conditions down NZ’s east coast. Flowering was relatively poor, and it quickly became clear that the harvest would be much smaller than 2022 or 2023. Warm weather began in mid-December and continued right through to March, causing one of the shortest ripening periods on record. However clear, cold nights retained fruit acidity during ripening. Harvest was short and sharp. All the 2024 fruit was packed with flavour and absolutely no sign of disease due to the amazing growing conditions. It was an ideal vintage!
VINIFICATION
The fruit for this wine came from the two beautiful vineyards in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys: Meadowbank Estate in the Taylor Pass and the Anderson Vineyard in the Brancott valley. Whole cluster pressed portions went directly into French oak barrels for a wild ferment on high solids. Other portions were tank fermented and some were cold settled and partially tank fermented and then sent to barrels mid-ferment. The yeast lees in the barrels were stirred very occasionally over a ten month period to add body and complexity, and the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation to add further complexity.