The Beechworth terroir has a distinctive fruit character of pear/peach fruit. The oak has minimal impact by using older French oak and mainly puncheons. The warm year has meant less citrus lift but has bran meal notes from the wild ferment and extended lees contact. The palate is quite rich with zesty acid line through to the finish. Drinking well now but will improve with further bottle age. Maybe leave the 2012 and 2013 for a couple more years and enjoy this in its place. Enjoy with Seafood to light meats.

Small-batch Chardonnay from Marlborough negociants Novum. Stonefruit, cream and mineral on the nose. Flintiness meets fruit on the palate, making for a distinctive medium-bodied wine. An appealingly long finish shows this to be a top tier Chardonnay. Novum use small parcels of fruit from specially selected sites on established Marlborough vineyards to craft the best wines and expressions of terroir possible. Their first vintage arrived in 2016. Novums primary focus is on Syrah, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Finely poised and with stylish French oak nuances, offering attractive notes of rockmelon, fig, vanilla and a touch of struck match flint the palate is enhanced by a sleek and refined mouthfeel leading to a sublime finish.

ISABEL ESTATE VINEYARD Aratoro Chardonnay, Marlborough Isabel Estate was established in Marlborough in 1980 and has some of the oldest vines in the region. Aratoro (meaning 'path of discovery') is Isabel Estate's top-tier range. This single-vineyard wine is crafted from some of the oldest vines on the Isabel Estate vineyard. The Chardonnay is crafted from naturally low yielding vines that provide fruit with great concentration and acidity. The resulting wine is powerful and intricate, displaying notes of gunsmoke, white peach, and nectarine, with hints of lemon and lime. The citrus note gives the wine length and vibrancy. Mineral, linear, lengthy and fine acidity carries the wine and gives this beautiful wine great age-ability.

Isabel Estate is one of the original Marlborough vineyards and boasts some of the oldest vines in the region with wines 100% grown and bottled within the boundaries of the estate. There is a focus on small batch winemaking, giving greater options at blending and helping to create complex wines with a sense of place. Aratoro (meaning 'path of discovery') is Isabel Estate's top tier range. This single vineyard wine is crafted from some of the oldest vines on the Isabel Estate vineyard. The natural

Ghost Town Chardonnay is handcrafted in very limited quantities. Generous aromas of peach, naval orange and meyerlemons with acacia blossom and a touch of brioche in the background lead to a creamy, and textural palate. Integrated nougat oak, with subtle spice and hints of flint are showcased on the palate. A fine, precise acidity flows through the wine to a persistent finish.

Nanny Goat is a Central Otago winery known best for their Pinot Noir but their Chardonnay is also exceptional. Its name derives from the fact that much of the country is rough, dry, mountainous and desolate – seemingly suitable only for goats. Apparently, the brand’s owner, Aussie John Valmorbida, was climbing up to a hilltop restaurant near Queenstown when the goat idea struck him. It is rather appropriate. Hand picked and whole bunch pressed to stainless steel tanks before being mixed and transferred to 500L French oak puncheons (25% new) with high solids. The wine is then left to ferment naturally with occasional lees stirring to enhance palate weight and texture. The wine underwent 90% malolactic fermentation, softening the palate yet retaining a fine vein of acidity for balance on the palate.