2023 was a tricky vintage in Hawke’s Bay, but this selection of Chardonnays impressed
Hawke’s Bay is proving to be an amazing region for Chardonnay, making some of New Zealand’s best examples.
This was the most complicated vintage in the region for some time, but it’s important not to let that be the lens through which the finished wines are assessed. The region a cool year and then a destructive tropical cyclone, with five times the average rainfall in Hawke’s Bay in February. The vineyards in Esk Valley, Puketapu and Dartmoor were hit by floods that deposited lots of silt. Other sub regions such as Gimblett Gravels, Bridge Pa, Mangatahi and Te Awanga fared better. Many got a decent crop because in March the weather improved a lot.
Here’s my write up of a selection of the best examples. I wasn’t in the region during this somewhat traumatic vintage, so it makes it easier to judge the wines as they are, without any shadow.
Craggy Range Chardonnay Gimblett Gravels Vineyard 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
12.7% alcohol. This is bright and lively with pear and pineapple fruit, showing an open, expressive character, with hints of toast and some tropical elements, as well as keen citrus. There’s a lot of fruit to this wine, and it covers a wide spectrum of flavours, from bright lime to rich tropical. 93/100
Bilancia Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
12.5% alcohol. Hand picked, pressed to barrel, wild ferment, from a mix of sites in Hawke’s Bay. This has really lovely balance. There’s some bright acidity sitting under textured pear and citrus fruit. There are some hints of toast and spice, and also a touch of chamomile. Real interest here to this dynamic, expressive Chardonnay. 94/100
Clearview Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. Such freshness here, but also depth. The core is ripe apple and pear fruit, with some ripe peach and melon. But there’s also some fresh lemony detail. The oak is really well integrated, and it finishes long and rich. Certainly tending to the riper end of the spectrum, but it stays fresh and with some energy. 94/100
Bilancia Kaikora Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13% alcohol. From central Hawke’s Bay. This is quite lovely. Toast and peach, with some spicy detail, and a lovely complex, grainy palate with richness – apple, peach, pear – as well as freshness and detail. This is fruity, lively and complex with rich toasty, spicy notes as well as focused fruit. Notes of popcorn and some mineral character on the finish. 95/100
Paritua Willow Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13% alcohol. This is really, fine, fresh and textural. Fine lemon and pear fruit with some white peach. Smooth and fine-grained with hints of aniseed and almond. It’s beautifully textured amnd delicate. 94/100
AC Reserve Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. From limestone soils on the face of the Te Mata peak. This is bold, rich and toasty with ripe pear and peach fruit. There’s a lot of richness and volume here with some soft, buttery, toasty characters on the palate. It’s a rich wine but there’s a nice acid line lying underneath all the bold fruit. Harmonious. 93/100
Alchemy Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13% alcohol. Lovely focused aromatics of toast, lime and canteloup melon, with real finesse and focus. The palate is rich and quite intense, with a buttery/dairy edge to the spicy popcorn, toast, peach and lemon notes. This shows lovely depth of flavour, with sweet fruit and appealing toastiness, as well as texture and presence. Beautiful balance here, in a rich, appealing style. 94/100
Čuvar Iris Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. This is made by Fistonich Family Vineyards, headed up by George Fistonich who established and ran Villa Maria for so many years. It’s bold with some toasted hazelnut and lemon and pear on the nose, and then a rich palate with peach, pear and spice, showing some fruit sweetness and a touch of ripe melon and honey on the finish. Very appealing in a rich, fruit-forward style. 93/100
Askerne Reserve Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
14% alcohol. This has a lovely twist of struck flint minerality on the nose with focused pear and lemon fruit. The palate has some richness and density with a core of sweet ripe pear fruit as well as a touch of peach. It’s generous and sweetly fruited, finishing with an appealing sweet fruit character. Textural and inviting. 93/100
Squawking Magpie Gravels Chardonnay 2023 Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
14% alcohol. This is ripe and bold with a core of sweet peach and pear fruit. There’s a rich texture to the palate with a smoothness, and some melony richness. This is all about the bold, rich, tropical fruit, and a softness on the mid-palate that’s very appealing. 91/100
Alpha Domus The Batten Chardonnay 2023 Bridge Pa Triangle, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
12.5% alcohol. Vivid, rich and intense with ripe pineapple and peach fruit, as well as some pear skin. Rich in style with some woody notes in the background, as well as some grapefruit. Well balanced despite the richness. 93/100
