Black Estate's Home Vineyard is located on the northern slopes of New Zealand's Waipara Valley, in North Canterbury.
Their Chardonnay vines were planted in 1984 and farmed with organic and biodynamic practices since 2010. Like all of the Domaine's wines, the grapes are fermented with wild yeasts, in 500L oak barrels that have seen two to four vintages. A bit of lees aging and full malo gives a round and rich texture, but there's still plenty of freshness and an undercurrent of minerality.
Bottled unfiltered and unfined, well worth decanting to serve.
Black Estate is a producer of wines that are a perfect reflection of place. In a relatively short time, Brown has further influenced this style with his ‘less is more’ philosophy: less intervention, less oak, less alcohol while delivering more precision and more personality.
This is a beautifully mineral and flinty chardonnay with a medium body and long, sleek and phenolic layers. Dried lemons, slate, green apples, grapefruit, and subtle spice. Tightly wound. From organically grown grapes. Unfined and unfiltered. Drink or hold. Screw cap.