James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com
94/100
Tension and intensity with cooked apples, toasted oak and hints of bread dough following through to a medium body, lovely fruit and a complex finish. It’s all here.
SHEILD Chardonnay 2023
24,90 CHF
33,19 CHF pro Liter
incl. statutory VAT excl. shipping costs
delivery time ca. 5–7 Werktage
Product.Nr. 2217s
Made from 27 old vines in sunny Nelson. Lovely aromas of hazelnut, peach and ripe citrus fruits mingle with a balancing acidity. "The Sheild winery in Nelson, New Zealand, makes precise and aromatic whites" - James Suckling.
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product description
SHEILD Chardonnay 2023
Tasting note
A characterful Chardonnay with a bright lemon-yellow color. On the nose, it offers aromas of hazelnut, peach, and ripe citrus fruits – and what you smell, you’ll taste as well. The wine is full-bodied, with lovely fruitiness and pleasantly soft acidity. The finish is smooth and long.
Aromas and flavours:
Reviews
Reviews for SHEILD Chardonnay 2023:
Cameron Douglas MS
camerondouglasms.com
92/100
A distinctive bouquet of peaches and cream, apricots and vanilla, whipped cream and a light toasty wood complexity. A soft creamy texture touches the palate first with textures from acidity and fine wood tannins, then flavours of ripe stone fruits and grapefruit. Balanced, well made and ready to drink from 2024 through 2029.
David Walker Bell
WineFolio
92/100
A wine from the Nelson region, using Mendoza and Clone 15 grapes from the Waimea Plains. A vibrant lemon yellow gold in the glass. Good varietal typicity and golden aromas of peach, grapefruit, pear, brazil nut, quince, tarragon and lemon curd. The palate has a citric verve and energy, towed along by a fine line of juicy acidity. Ripe, with an assured, fleshy weight through the middle. There is a gentle spice and the oak is a well-integrated, and well-rounded background note. Finishes well – with good length and harmony.
Additional information
Type: White wine from New Zealand
Varietal: Chardonnay
Food match: Pairs especially well with roast chicken, creamy pasta, grilled fish or mild soft cheese. Also perfect for a relaxed evening with friends.
Vineyard: Twin Rivers (Waimea Plains), Nelson, New Zealand.
Vintage 2023: Winter 2022 was not especially cold as local sea temperatures remained warmish and influenced the land. Precipitation on the other hand was frequent, and sometimes heavy. Budburst was again early as we have become accustomed to with the La Nina dominant weather umbrella. Spring growth was also vigorous with water at field capacity in the soils, and warmer temperatures. The energetic spring conditions proved challenging for flowering and fruitset resulting in variability within varieties and across regional sites. Periodic rain events continued through summer and the vineyard vigor continued as well. Temperatures remained warm so fruit development was not retarded. Fingers were crossed from verasion and with a large amount of luck the rain held off and fruit was allowed to ripen and be harvested. Picking started early March with the Rose and was completed in a relatively short four week period. Grapes were once again clean and ripe.
Regional climate: Nelson’s sheltered topography gives protection from strong winds; combined with its proximity to the sea this gives milder temperatures than other South Island regions, mitigating frost risk. Regularly New Zealand’s sunniest region and with good diurnal variation this helps emphasise varietal character. High sunlight hours and a long growing season give wonderful fruit purity.
Winemaking: Chardonnay clones Mendoza (thought to produce rich wines) and 15 (provides good fruit characters) – were machine harvested in the cool of early morning late March for this wine. The fruit was gently pressed and the juice allowed to settle and partially clarify for 24hrs. The juice was then racked off the heaviest of juice solids to a stainless-steel ferment tank. The juice was inoculated with a unique yeast strain chosen for its contribution to mouthfeel and the ability to reveal characters such as almond, hazelnut, toasted bread and citrus. A cool but steady ferment was managed in tank, and once nearing dryness was transferred with only fine yeast lees to new and seasoned Hogs Heads to complete ferment. Battonage was carried out on the barrels once a month. As Spring warmed the cellar malolactic fermentation began and was closely monitored. Full malo was allowed (though not every year) as we felt the wine had enough remaining acidity and power to wear it well. After approximately a year in barrel the wine was hauled from its slumber and blended to tank, in anticipation of the new vintage. The wine was then stabilized and readied for bottling in the last week of February 2024.
Production: only 4632 bottles
Wine style: dry
Alcohol: 14% vol
Bottle size: 0.75l
Notice: contains sulphites
Cellaring potential: 2029
Closure: Screwcap
Produced and bottled by: Drinks Cabinet Limited, Atawhai, Nelson 7010, New Zealand
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