Cloudy Bay : Chardonnay 2023

This is a ripe, generously oaked 2023 Chardonnay. It offers liberal vanilla, coconut, baking spices and toasted nuts with rich fruit tones that will have you thinking of nectarines or peaches as it slips down. Its appeal lies in its purity and freshness. The 2023 has ripe fruit yet remains defined, finishing with line and focus — but then this is Marlborough: lots of sunshine hours yet a cool climate, which are plain to see in this wine.

The 2023 Chardonnay is tight and pithy, laden with white peach, lemon brine, a subtle display of woodsy spices and curry peach to close. This is balanced and fresh, and all elements of the wine are in balance with each other, making for pleasurable drinking. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.