Te Mata Estate Elston Chardonnay

Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognised wines exclusively from its Hawkes Bay vineyards.  Under the direction of John Buck, Te Mata Estate has, over nearly thirty years, produced a stunning array of red and white wines including famous labels such as Coleraine, Awatea cabernets/Merlots, Bullnose Syrah, Elston Chardonnay, Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc and Zara Viognier. In 2012 Te Mata Estate launched Estate Vineyards, a collection sourced exclusively from their own vineyards and blended to represent the best qualities of their variety.

Te Mata Estate is New Zealand's leading producer of modern Bordeaux varietals, a reputation founded, since 1982, upon the excellence of our flagship wine, Coleraine. This traditional blend of Bordeaux varieties is a consistently rewarding, complex wine showing ripe blackcurrant, plum and chocolate flavours with a supple and sustained palate.

Vineyards

The superb quality of the 2016 vintage was immediately apparent in the fully ripe grapes that were hand-harvested from their separate, individual plots within Te Mata Estate’s vineyards between 17 and 26 March 2016.

Vinification

Each parcel was gently whole-cluster pressed, cold settled and racked to new and seasoned French oak barrels for fermentation. The resulting wines remained in contact with their yeast lees while undergoing malolactic fermentation. The finest lots were selected for further maturation, spending a total of eleven months in barrel.

Tasting Notes

Resplendent white-gold, Elston Chardonnay ’16 shows immediate notes of lemon oil, white peach and concentrated, ripe nectarine. The aromas of citrus blossom and clover honey sparkle over a luxurious palate of grapefruit, toast and lemon nougat. Elston Chardonnay, Te Mata’s Queen, is fine, gorgeous and intense. Chardonnay royalty with focus, energy and oodles of its signature, moreish character.