Te Mata Elston Chardonnay 2023

Reviews

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 97/100. Wow. The aromas are breathtaking with lemon rind, lemon tree, hints of sandalwood, minerals and crushed stones. The palate shows a stunning interplay of sliced apples, green mangoes, lemongrass, honeysuckle, white cedar and intense lemons. Some flint and wet stones at the end and a briny aftertaste. 100% barrel-fermented. Aged 11 months in barrel. Drink now or hold.

Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 94/100. A profusion of white pineapple and green apple, roasted hazelnut/cashew and white flowers. It is impressive, flavorsome and almost achingly intense, with great length through the finish. Recommended.

Decanter: 94/100. Tasted by: Emma Jenkins MW (at Auckland, New Zealand, 05 Mar 2025). Always a very supple and seamless wine. There’s plenty of peach, lemon, guava, crème brûlée and cashew to enjoy, plus hints of bran biscuit and a flick of flint on the nose. The silky palate has a very nicely judged line of acidity that draws a thread right through the wine, adding tautness to the ripe fruit and emphasising the long finish. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2040.

Michael Cooper: Super Classic (= outstanding quality for at least the last 5 vintages). One of New Zealand's most illustrious Chardonnays, Elston is a stylish, intense, slowly evolving Hawke's Bay wine. At around four years old, it is notably complete, showing concentration and finesse.

Tasting Note:

In the glass, Elston Chardonnay 2023 exudes a radiant golden hue. Its aroma is a captivating blend of grapefruit, white peach, vanilla, and roasted nuts, interwoven with subtle charred nuances and flinty undertones. The palate presents exquisite freshness and structure with lemon brûlée, peach, toasty brioche notes and refreshing citrus. Elston Chardonnay 2023 is graceful, impeccably balanced, and finishes long and satisfying, with a subtle saline quality.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: White wine from New Zealand

Varietal: 100% Chardonnay

Vineyard: Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The superb quality of the 2023 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 22 February and 15 March 2023.

Winemaking: 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, with a number going through malolactic fermentation. The finest lots were selected for further maturation, spending a total of 11 months in barrel with 36% being new oak.

The name: Elston is named for Elston Hall in Nottinghamshire, the ancestral home of Charles Darwin’s family. Darwin’s ‘theory of natural selection’ forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory, the foundation of biology. The wyvern symbol of Elston Hall appears on the label.

Alcohol: 13% vol

Total acidity: 7.1 g/l

Wine style: dry

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: Contains sulfites, milk.

Cellaring potential: 2033+

Closure: Screwcap

Produced and bottled by: Te Mata Estate, PO Box 8335, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay 4157, New Zealand